Earlier this month, I looked at the running game in the NFL for every team going back to the year 2000, looking for the most 'prolific rushing team'. There are several ways to look at the definition of prolific.
What I did was simple, I looked at what teams had 1,000 yard rushers, and the team with the highest of 1,000 yard rushers would then fit my definition of a prolific rushing team. Well, I ended up with a tie between the Tennessee Titans and New York Giants. Each team had 1,000 yard rushers for 10 of the possible 12 seasons going back to the year 2000. A team can have a great running back, but I think a team that has different running backs go over the 1,000 yard mark is a more prolific rushing team, so I went with the Titans as the most prolific rushing team in the NFL.
Another way to look at prolific rushing teams would be to look at the number of rushing attempts. I have once again went back to the start of the 2000 season and looked at every rushing attempt for every team, then added them, then took the averages for attempts per season and attempts per game. There are 192 games to look at, so in all but one instance, that is the number used to get the average per game. The Houston Texans start in 2002, so 160 games and 10 years were used to get those averages.
The list below is sorted by rushing attempts per season, as the Texans only have 10 seasons to look at and sorting by just the number of attempts wouldn't work.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have the most rushing attempts per season, (That also means per game by default), going back to the start of the 2000 season. The Detroit Lions have the lowest number of rushing attempts per season of any NFL team in that same time span.
Rushing attempts
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| Rank | Team | Attempts | ▼per Season | per Game |
| #1 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 6,005 | 500.42 | 31.28 |
| #2 | Baltimore Ravens | 5,844 | 487 | 30.44 |
| #3 | Denver Broncos | 5,761 | 480.08 | 30 |
| #4 | Atlanta Falcons | 5,685 | 473.75 | 29.61 |
| #5 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 5,646 | 470.5 | 29.41 |
| #6 | Tennessee Titans | 5,630 | 469.17 | 29.32 |
| #7 | New England Patriots | 5,549 | 462.42 | 28.9 |
| #8 | New York Jets | 5,526 | 460.5 | 28.78 |
| #9 | Kansas City Chiefs | 5,511 | 459.25 | 28.7 |
| #10 | Miami Dolphins | 5,476 | 456.33 | 28.52 |
| #11 | New York Giants | 5,457 | 454.75 | 28.42 |
| #12 | Dallas Cowboys | 5,440 | 453.33 | 28.33 |
| #13 | San Diego Chargers | 5,407 | 450.58 | 28.16 |
| #14 | Washington Redskins | 5,402 | 450.17 | 28.14 |
| #15 | Cincinnati Bengals | 5,401 | 450.08 | 28.13 |
| #16 | Carolina Panthers | 5,376 | 448 | 28 |
| #17 | Minnesota Vikings | 5,349 | 445.75 | 27.86 |
| #18 | *Houston Texans | 4,437 | 443.7 | 27.73 |
| #19 | Seattle Seahawks | 5,297 | 441.42 | 27.59 |
| #20 | Chicago Bears | 5,238 | 436.5 | 27.28 |
| #21 | Oakland Raiders | 5,236 | 436.33 | 27.27 |
| #22 | San Francisco 49ers | 5,217 | 434.75 | 27.17 |
| #23 | New Orleans Saints | 5,168 | 430.67 | 26.92 |
| #24 | Buffalo Bills | 5,130 | 427.5 | 26.72 |
| #25 | Green Bay Packers | 5,121 | 426.75 | 26.67 |
| #26 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5,067 | 422.25 | 26.39 |
| #27 | Indianapolis Colts | 5,048 | 420.67 | 26.29 |
| #28 | Philadelphia Eagles | 4,982 | 415.17 | 25.95 |
| #29 | Cleveland Browns | 4,954 | 412.83 | 25.8 |
| #30 | St. Louis Rams | 4,808 | 400.67 | 25.04 |
| #31 | Arizona Cardinals | 4,630 | 385.83 | 24.11 |
| #32 | Detroit Lions | 4,493 | 374.42 | 23.4 |
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| Arian Foster, running back for the Houston Texans (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
This next list takes that into consideration. I look at all the rushing touchdowns scored since the start of the 2000 season, once again adding them and getting totals. I use those totals to get the average rushing touchdowns per season and average rushing touchdowns per game.
The San Diego Chargers top this list, with 216 rushing touchdowns in the last 12 seasons, an average of 18 rushing touchdowns per season. The Cleveland Browns have the lowest number of rushing touchdowns per season over the last twelve years, with 8.
Rushing Touchdowns
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| Rank | Team | Total TDs | ▼per Season | per Game |
| #1 | San Diego Chargers | 216 | 18 | 1.13 |
| #2 | Kansas City Chiefs | 201 | 16.75 | 1.05 |
| #3 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 188 | 15.67 | .98 |
| #4 | New England Patriots | 187 | 15.58 | .97 |
| #5 | Minnesota Vikings | 185 | 15.42 | .96 |
| #6 | New York Giants | 178 | 14.83 | .93 |
| #7 | Denver Broncos | 177 | 14.75 | .92 |
| #8 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 177 | 14.75 | .92 |
| #9 | Atlanta Falcons | 174 | 14.5 | .91 |
| #10 | Indianapolis Colts | 172 | 14.33 | .9 |
| #11 | New Orleans Saints | 171 | 14.25 | .89 |
| #12 | Philadelphia Eagles | 170 | 14.17 | .89 |
| #13 | Tennessee Titans | 169 | 14.08 | .88 |
| #14 | Miami Dolphins | 169 | 14.08 | .88 |
| #15 | Seattle Seahawks | 167 | 13.92 | .87 |
| #16 | *Houston Texans | 137 | 13.7 | .86 |
| #17 | Oakland Raiders | 161 | 13.42 | .84 |
| #18 | Carolina Panthers | 158 | 13.17 | .82 |
| #19 | New York Jets | 157 | 13.08 | .82 |
| #20 | Baltimore Ravens | 153 | 12.75 | .8 |
| #21 | Green Bay Packers | 150 | 12.5 | .78 |
| #22 | San Francisco 49ers | 148 | 12.33 | .77 |
| #23 | St. Louis Rams | 146 | 12.17 | .76 |
| #24 | Dallas Cowboys | 144 | 12 | .75 |
| #25 | Cincinnati Bengals | 135 | 11.25 | .7 |
| #26 | Buffalo Bills | 128 | 10.67 | .67 |
| #27 | Washington Redskins | 128 | 10.67 | .67 |
| #28 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 125 | 10.42 | .65 |
| #29 | Chicago Bears | 123 | 10.25 | .64 |
| #30 | Arizona Cardinals | 120 | 10 | .63 |
| #31 | Detroit Lions | 115 | 9.58 | .6 |
| #32 | Cleveland Browns | 96 | 8 | .5 |
While we can look at the sheer number of rushing attempts and rushing touchdowns, we can't overlook rushing yards. Sure, touchdowns are the desired end result of every play in the NFL, but yards are king.
Teams with lots of rushing yards have a great ground game, and control the clock. They can also run out that clock with leads. We have to consider yards when looking for a prolific rushing team.
Since the start of the 2000 season, the Denver Broncos have the most rushing yards per season, with the Arizona Cardinals having the least rushing yards per season. When we talk about the running game, the Broncos have to be in the conversation.
Rushing Yards
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| Rank | Team | Total Yards | ▼per Season | per Game |
| #1 | Denver Broncos | 25,938 | 2,161.5 | 135.09 |
| #2 | Atlanta Falcons | 25,014 | 2084.5 | 130.28 |
| #3 | Minnesota Vikings | 24,848 | 2,070.67 | 129.42 |
| #4 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 24,787 | 2,065.58 | 129.1 |
| #5 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 24,703 | 2,058.58 | 128.66 |
| #6 | Kansas City Chiefs | 24,101 | 2,008.42 | 125.53 |
| #7 | Baltimore Ravens | 23,980 | 1,998.33 | 124.9 |
| #8 | New York Giants | 23,619 | 1968.25 | 123.02 |
| #9 | Tennessee Titans | 23,128 | 1,927.33 | 120.46 |
| #10 | Philadelphia Eagles | 22,858 | 1904.83 | 119.05 |
| #11 | New York Jets | 22,759 | 1,896.58 | 118.54 |
| #12 | San Diego Chargers | 22,737 | 1,894.75 | 118.42 |
| #13 | Dallas Cowboys | 22,621 | 1,885.08 | 117.82 |
| #14 | Oakland Raiders | 22,269 | 1,855.75 | 115.98 |
| #15 | San Francisco 49ers | 22,255 | 1,854.58 | 115.91 |
| #16 | Carolina Panthers | 22,168 | 1,847.33 | 115.46 |
| #17 | Miami Dolphins | 22,114 | 1,842.83 | 115.18 |
| #18 | Seattle Seahawks | 22,013 | 1,834.42 | 114.65 |
| #19 | Washington Redskins | 21,953 | 1,829.42 | 114.34 |
| #20 | New England Patriots | 21,698 | 1,808.17 | 113.01 |
| #21 | Cincinnati Bengals | 21,553 | 1,796.08 | 112.25 |
| #22 | New Orleans Saints | 21,411 | 1,784.25 | 111.52 |
| #23 | *Houston Texans | 17,780 | 1,778 | 111.13 |
| #24 | Green Bay Packers | 21,201 | 1,766.75 | 110.42 |
| #25 | Buffalo Bills | 21,051 | 1,754.25 | 109.64 |
| #26 | Chicago Bears | 20,352 | 1,696 | 106 |
| #27 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 20,275 | 1,689.58 | 105.6 |
| #28 | St. Louis Rams | 19,940 | 1,661.67 | 103.85 |
| #29 | Indianapolis Colts | 19,749 | 1,645.75 | 102.86 |
| #30 | Cleveland Browns | 18,980 | 1,581.67 | 98.85 |
| #31 | Detroit Lions | 17,709 | 1,475.75 | 92.23 |
| #32 | Arizona Cardinals | 17,350 | 1,445.83 | 90.36 |
Now that we have the 'prolific' category out of the way, I wanted to look for a way to find the most efficient rushing team in the NFL in the 21st century.
The solution is once again simple. Just take the total number of yards gained and divide that number by the total number of attempts. The end result is average yards per carry. This stat is not contingent on the number of seasons, so there is no asterisk by the Texans below.
Since the start of the 2000 season, the Minnesota Vikings have averaged a league best 4.65 yards per carry, on 5,349 attempts and 24,848 total rushing yards. They are the most efficient rushing team in the NFL rushing the ball over the last twelve seasons, lead by Adrian Peterson.
Once again, we find the Arizona Cardinals at the bottom of this list.
Average Yards per Carry
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| Rank | Team | ▼Yards per carry |
| #1 | Minnesota Vikings | 4.65 |
| #2 | Philadelphia Eagles | 4.59 |
| #3 | Denver Broncos | 4.50 |
| #4 | Atlanta Falcons | 4.4 |
| #5 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 4.38 |
| #6 | Kansas City Chiefs | 4.37 |
| #7 | New York Giants | 4.33 |
| #8 | San Francisco 49ers | 4.27 |
| #9 | Oakland Raiders | 4.25 |
| #10 | San Diego Chargers | 4.21 |
| #11 | Dallas Cowboys | 4.16 |
| #12 | Seattle Seahawks | 4.16 |
| #13 | St. Louis Rams | 4.15 |
| #14 | Green Bay Packers | 4.14 |
| #15 | New Orleans Saints | 4.14 |
| #16 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 4.13 |
| #17 | Carolina Panthers | 4.12 |
| #18 | New York Jets | 4.12 |
| #19 | Tennessee Titans | 4.11 |
| #20 | Baltimore Ravens | 4.1 |
| #21 | Buffalo Bills | 4.1 |
| #22 | Washington Redskins | 4.06 |
| #23 | Miami Dolphins | 4.04 |
| #24 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 4.0 |
| #25 | Houston Texans | 4.0 |
| #26 | Cincinnati Bengals | 3.99 |
| #27 | Detroit Lions | 3.94 |
| #28 | Indianapolis Colts | 3.91 |
| #29 | New England Patriots | 3.91 |
| #30 | Chicago Bears | 3.89 |
| #31 | Cleveland Browns | 3.83 |
| #32 | Arizona Cardinals | 3.75 |
* Averages and totals based on 10 years and 160 games
All of these stats are from NFL.com, I have included the links. I sorted by team, then added the totals and took the appropriate averages.
2000 rushing stats
2001 rushing stats
2002 rushing stats
2003 rushing stats
2004 rushing stats
2005 rushing stats
2006 rushing stats
2007 rushing stats
2008 rushing stats
2009 rushing stats
2010 rushing stats
2011 rushing stats
As an example, here are the sorted numbers, totals, and averages for the Oakland Raiders:
Rk Team Att Att/G Yds Avg Yds/G
1 Oakland Raiders 520 32.5 2,470 4.8 154.4
24 Oakland Raiders 450 28.1 1,654 3.7 103.4
18 Oakland Raiders 414 25.9 1,762 4.3 110.1
16 Oakland Raiders 423 26.4 1,822 4.3 113.9
32 Oakland Raiders 327 20.4 1,295 4.0 80.9
29 Oakland Raiders 361 22.6 1,369 3.8 85.6
29 Oakland Raiders 394 24.6 1,519 3.9 94.9
6 Oakland Raiders 508 31.8 2,086 4.1 130.4
10 Oakland Raiders 459 28.7 1,987 4.3 124.2
21 Oakland Raiders 410 25.6 1,701 4.1 106.3
2 Oakland Raiders 504 31.5 2,494 4.9 155.9
7 Oakland Raiders 466 29.1 2,110 4.5 131.9
_________________________________________
Total attempts=5,236
Attempts per season=436.33
Attempts per game(192 games)= 27.27
Total rushing yards= 22,269
Yards per season=1,855.75
Yards per carry=4.25
Yards per game=115.9(192 games)
Team TD
Oakland Raiders 23
Oakland Raiders 14
Oakland Raiders 21
Oakland Raiders 15
Oakland Raiders 10
Oakland Raiders 11
Oakland Raiders 5
Oakland Raiders 11
Oakland Raiders 9
Oakland Raiders 7
Oakland Raiders 19
Oakland Raiders 16
_______________________________________
Oakland Raiders 161 - 13.42/Season - .84/game
I did that for all 32 teams, this should be the defining article on the running game in the NFL to date, I hope you enjoyed it.
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