Candidate #9: John Riggins
Running Back >>> 6-2, 230
(Kansas)
1971-1975 New York Jets, 1976-1979, 1981-1985 Washington Redskins
Robert John Riggins. . .Kansas All-America. . .No. 1 draft pick, 1971. . .Career record: 11,352 yards, 104 TDs rushing; 2,090 yards receiving; 13,442 combined net yards, 116 TDs. . .Most Valuable Player with 166 rushing yards, 43-yard winning touchdown, Super Bowl XVII. . .Had five 1,000-yard rushing seasons. . .Played in 1976 Pro Bowl. . .All-NFL, 1983 . . .Voluntarily sat out 1980 season. . .Born August 4, 1949, in Seneca, Kansas.
Running back John Riggins played 175 games in 14 seasons with the New York Jets and Washington Redskins. A Big Eight rushing champion who broke Gale Sayers’ rushing record at the University of Kansas, Riggins was the first pick of the New York Jets and the sixth player selected in the 1971 NFL Draft.
He played in New York for five years but signed with the Redskins in 1976 as a free agent. His nine-year tenure with the Redskins was interrupted in 1980, when he voluntarily sat out the season.
The 6-2, 230-pound Riggins was not a spectacular running back but he was a classic workhorse ball carrier who specialized in the tough yardage in the big games. He carried 2,916 times for 11,352 yards and 104 touchdowns during his career. He also caught 250 passes for 2,090 yards and 12 touchdowns. His 13,435 combined net yards are among the best ever, as is his 116 touchdowns by rushing and receiving.
Riggins played in the 1982 and 1983 NFC championship games and Super Bowls XVII and XVIII and made the most of his comparatively few postseason appearances. He was the Most Valuable Player in Super Bowl XVII with a then-record 38 carries for 166 yards. He capped off his big day with a 43-yard touchdown run that clinched Washington's 27-17 victory over Miami.
Riggins rushed over 1,000 yards five times in his career and over 100 yards in 35 games, including a then-record six in post-season. He rushed 251 times for 996 yards and 12 touchdowns in nine post-season contests. Riggins followed his Super Bowl XVII success with a sensational season in 1983 when he rushed for a career-high 1,347 yards and a then-record 24 touchdowns. Following that season he was named All-Pro for the first time in his illustrious career.
Code:
| Rushing | Receiving |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| Year TM | G | Att Yards Y/A TD | Rec Yards Y/R TD |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| 1971 nyj | 14 | 180 769 4.3 1 | 36 231 6.4 2 |
| 1972 nyj | 12 | 207 944 4.6 7 | 21 230 11.0 1 |
| 1973 nyj | 11 | 134 482 3.6 4 | 23 158 6.9 0 |
| 1974 nyj | 10 | 169 680 4.0 5 | 19 180 9.5 2 |
| 1975 nyj | 14 | 238 1005 4.2 8 | 30 363 12.1 1 |
| 1976 was | 14 | 162 572 3.5 3 | 21 172 8.2 1 |
| 1977 was | 5 | 68 203 3.0 0 | 7 95 13.6 2 |
| 1978 was | 15 | 248 1014 4.1 5 | 31 299 9.6 0 |
| 1979 was | 16 | 260 1153 4.4 9 | 28 163 5.8 3 |
| 1981 was | 15 | 195 714 3.7 13 | 6 59 9.8 0 |
| 1982 was | 8 | 177 553 3.1 3 | 10 50 5.0 0 |
| 1983 was | 15 | 375 1347 3.6 24 | 5 29 5.8 0 |
| 1984 was | 14 | 327 1239 3.8 14 | 7 43 6.1 0 |
| 1985 was | 12 | 176 677 3.8 8 | 6 18 3.0 0 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| TOTAL | 175 | 2916 11352 3.9 104 | 250 2090 8.4 12 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
Seasons among the league's top 10
Rushes: 1975-7, 1978-9, 1979-8, 1982-1t, 1983-2, 1984-5
Rushing yards: 1975-7, 1979-9, 1983-5, 1984-6
Rushing TDs: 1975-10t, 1979-9t, 1981-2t, 1983-1, 1984-1t
Yards from scrimmage: 1975-6
Rush/Receive TDs: 1979-7t, 1981-5t, 1983-1, 1984-3t
Among the league's all-time top 50
Rushes: 10
Rushing yards: 13
Rushing TDs: 5
Yards from scrimmage: 23
Rush/Receive TDs: 9t
Postseason data
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Year Opp Result | RSH YD TD | REC YD TD
---------------------+-----------------+-----------------
1976 min L,20-35 | 7 30 0 | 4 29 0
1982 det W,31-7 | 25 119 0 | 0 0 0
1982 min W,21-7 | 37 185 1 | 0 0 0
1982 dal W,31-17 | 36 140 2 | 0 0 0
*1982 mia W,27-17 | 38 166 1 | 1 15 0
1983 ram W,51-7 | 25 119 3 | 0 0 0
1983 sfo W,24-21 | 36 123 2 | 0 0 0
*1983 rai L,9-38 | 26 64 1 | 1 1 0
1984 chi L,19-23 | 21 50 2 | 0 0 0
---------------------+-----------------+-----------------
TOTAL | 251 996 12 | 6 45 0
* - Super Bowl