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NFL rushing leader Chris Johnson was voted to his second straight Pro Bowl, the NFL announced Tuesday. |
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Johnson, initially the team's lone representative, leads the NFL in rushing with 1,872 yards and 12 touchdowns. The second-year running back out of East Carolina also leads the Titans in receiving with 47 catches for 483 yards and two touchdowns, giving him a league-high 2,355 total yards from scrimmage.
He becomes the first player from this franchise to be voted to the Pro Bowl in each of his first two seasons since defensive end Jevon Kearse in 1999 and 2000.
With one game remaining, Johnson is on the cusp of reaching several historical markers. Among other potential milestones, he needs 63 rushing yards to become the franchise's all-time single-season rushing leader (1,934 by Earl Campbell in 1980), 128 rushing yards to become the sixth player to reach 2,000 in a season, and 75 scrimmage yards to break Marshall Faulk's 1999 NFL record of 2,429 scrimmage yards.
Johnson needs 234 yards to break Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards set in 1984. That would be a new career high for the running back who ran for 228 yards Nov. 1 against Jacksonville. He also produced a 197-yard rushing game vs. Houston Sept. 20.
Here's what Johnson needs Sunday at Seattle to reach more historical benchmarks:
• 63 rushing yards to break Earl Campbell's single-season franchise rushing record
• 75 scrimmage yards to break Marshall Faulk's NFL's single-season scrimmage yards record
• 100 rushing yards for his 11th consecutive 100-yard game (T-2nd, NFL history)
• 128 rushing yards to become the sixth player in NFL history with 2,000 rushing yards in a season
• 128 rushing yards and 17 receiving yards to become the first player in NFL history with 2,000 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in a season
• 234 rushing yards to break Eric Dickerson's NFL single-season rushing record
Here's a look at some of Johnson's accomplishments from the 2009 season:
2009 NFL RUSHING LEADERS: Johnson ranks first in the NFL in rushing yards. Johnson, who concluded his rookie season in 2008 ranked eighth in the NFL with 1,228 yards, has a total of 1,872 yards through 15 games and also leads the league with a 5.8-yard average.
2009 NFL SCRIMMAGE YARDS LEADERS: Johnson ranks first in the NFL in total yards from scrimmage. His 1,872 rushing yards and 483 receiving yards give him a total of 2,355 yards.
SCRIMMAGE YARDS IN A SEASON, TEAM HISTORY: Against the St. Louis Rams on Dec. 13, Johnson became the franchise's all-time single season leader in yards from scrimmage (combines rushing and receiving), surpassing Earl Campbell's 1980 output of 1,981 scrimmage yards.
FRANCHISE RUSHING LEADERS: The Titans have a pair of running backs at or near the franchise's all-time top 10 in career rushing yards. With 2,958 yards, Johnson is in eighth place on the list. LenDale White is 11th with 2,348 career yards.
MOST RUSHING YARDS IN A SEASON, TEAM HISTORY: Johnson now owns the second-largest single-season rushing total in franchise history. His 1,872 yards put him behind only Earl Campbell's total from 1980 (1,934). As a rookie in 2008, Johnson produced the 12th-highest rushing total in club annals with 1,228 yards.
JOHNSON AND 20-YARD RUSHES: Johnson leads the NFL with 22 carries that have gained 20 or more yards. In the past 15 seasons, only one other player (Adrian Peterson in 2008) has had 20 carries go for 20-plus yards. Barry Sanders is third with 19 in 1997.
MOST RUSHING YARDS IN FIRST 30 GAMES: Against the San Diego Chargers on Dec. 25, Johnson went over 3,000 career rushing yards in his 30th NFL game. Only six other players in NFL history reached the 3,000-yard mark in their first 30 games, including Eric Dickerson, Clinton Portis, Jim Brown, Adrian Peterson, Chris Johnson, Edgerrin James and Earl Campbell.
10 CONSECUTIVE 100-YARD RUSHING GAMES: Johnson's 142-yard rushing game Christmas night vs. San Diego was his 10th straight 100-yard rushing game, giving him the third-longest streak behind Barry Sanders (14 in 1997) and Marcus Allen (11 in 1985-86). Jamal Lewis was the last to run for 2,000 yards in 2003.
A MONTH TO REMEMBER: Johnson produced arguably the best month of any running back in NFL history in November. With 800 total rushing yards in the month, he had the most rushing yards in a calendar month since 1970. His total surpassed Ricky Williams' previous record of 797 yards in December of 2002 and ahead of Barry Sanders' previous record of 702 yards in the month of November (1997).
LONGEST RUNS IN FRANCHISE HISTORY: Johnson has recorded the top three longest runs in franchise history this season. He tied a franchise mark (sid Blanks on Dec. 13, 1964) with a 91-yard touchdown run vs. Houston (Sept. 20). He also ripped off an 89-yard touchdown run vs. Jacksonville (Nov. 1) and an 85-yard touchdown run vs. Arizona (Nov. 29).
SINGLE-GAME SCRIMMAGE YARDS: Johnson produced the second-largest combined rushing and receiving total in franchise history with a 284-yard game vs. Houston (Sept. 20) behind Billy Cannon's total of 330 yards against the New York Titans on Dec. 10, 1961. It also was the seventh-greatest combined rushing and receiving total in the NFL since the start of the 2000 season and the 12th-best number in the NFL since 1970. He set a career-high at the time with 197 rushing yards and 87 receiving yards, accounting for a pair of rushing touchdowns and one touchdown reception. It was the first time in NFL history that a player recorded a 90-plus yard rushing touchdown (91), another 50-plus yard rushing touchdown (57) and a 60-plus yard receiving touchdown (69) in a game.
JOHNSON'S SINGLE-GAME FRANCHISE RECORD: On Nov. 1, Johnson set the franchise's all-time single-game rushing record with 228 yards against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He accomplished the feat while tying a career high with a total of 24 carries, including touchdown runs of 52 and 89 yards.
RUSHING FOR 125 IN SIX CONSECUTIVE GAMES: Johnson became the third player in NFL history with six consecutive games rushing for 125 or more yards, joining Earl Campbell (1980) and Eric Dickerson (1984).
MOST RUSHING TD'S IN A SEASON, CLUB HISTORY: Johnson's 12 rushing touchdowns currently rank as the sixth-highest total in franchise history behind Earl Campbell (19 in 1979), LenDale White (15 in 2008), Eddie George (14 in 2000), and Campbell's totals of 13 in 1978 and 1980.
HIGHEST RUSHING AVERAGE AMONG NFL RUSHING LEADERS: Johnson leads the NFL with 1,872 yards and also leads the league with a 5.81-yard average. If he can raise his average above 6.0 in the season finale, Johnson would join Barry Sanders, O.J. Simpson, Jim Brown, Joe Perry and Beattie Feathers as only the sixth player in NFL history to lead the league in rushing with an average above six yards per attempt.
Each year, NFL coaches, players and fans vote upon players to be elected to AFC and NFC Pro Bowl teams. Last season, Tennessee was represented by seven players, including cornerback Cortland Finnegan, defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, safeties Michael Griffin and Chris Hope, running back Chris Johnson, center Kevin Mawae and tackle Michael Roos. Since moving the franchise to Tennessee in 1997, the Titans organization has been represented by 42 Pro Bowl selections.