Alabama ball-carriers dominate the NFL’s top 100 runs
If the former Alabama players featured in the NFL’s “Top 100 Runs of the 2023 Season” were taken out of the rankings, it would need to be renamed “Top 80 Runs of the 2023 Season.”
Eight Crimson Tide alumni account for 20 of the runs chosen by the league for the Top 100 list released this week.
The highest-rated run by a former Alabama player placed third: Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts’ 12-yard touchdown in overtime that lifted the Eagles to a 37-34 victory against the Buffalo Bills on Nov. 26.
The other Alabama player to appear in the top 10 for the season wasn’t a running back either. Detroit wide receiver Jameson Williams ranked No. 7 with a 42-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring in the Lions’ 34-31 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 28
Williams also had three regular-season rushing attempts, and one of them made the Top 100, too. Williams’ 19-yard touchdown run with 14:07 left in Detroit’s 33-28 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Dec. 3 was rated at No. 26.
Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry appears five times in the Top 100:
· At No. 16, a 29-yard touchdown run in the second quarter of a 27-3 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 1.
· At No. 41, a 27-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring in a 31-28 overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 3.
· At No. 48, an 18-yard touchdown run in the second quarter of a 28-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Jan. 7.
· At No. 51, a 63-yard run in the third quarter of a 24-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 15.
· At No. 76, a 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter of a 20-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 2.
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs appears four times in the Top 100:
· At No. 12, a 31-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter of a 31-23 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs on Jan. 21.
· At No. 39, a 27-yard touchdown run in the third quarter of a 26-14 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Oct. 30.
· At No. 55, a 21-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter of a 38-6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 22.
· At No. 61, a 14-yard touchdown run in the second quarter of a 30-24 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Dec. 24.
Pittsburgh running back Najee Harris appears three times in the Top 100, and all three occurred in the same game – the Steelers’ 30-23 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Dec. 31:
· At No. 30, an 8-yard run in the fourth quarter.
· At No. 56, a 9-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
· At No. 71, a 4-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Cleveland Browns running back Jerome Ford appears twice in the Top 100 with runs of the same distance:
· At No. 25, a 69-yard touchdown run to open the scoring in a 39-38 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 22.
· At No. 70, a 69-yard in the third quarter of a 26-22 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 18.
Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs placed 11th with a 62-yard touchdown run in the second quarter of a 31-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. came in at No. 83 with a 15-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter of a 34-31 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Oct.
