This month marks the fifth anniversary of the breaking of one of the NFL’s most hallowed records. On October 27, 2002, Emmitt Smith surpassed Walter Payton as the league’s leading rusher. His record of 18,355 career yards stands to this day and is in no danger of being broken any time soon. Yet despite holding this and several other league records, many often claim Barry Sanders was a better, overall running back. Proponents of Sanders claim Smith had the good fortune of playing with a better team and behind a better offensive line and was thus granted more of an opportunity to thrive. A closer look at Emmitt’s numbers, however, tells an astonishing story of consistency, durability and unrivaled post-season accolades that give him the nod as the better career back.
After leaving the University of Florida as their leading rusher at the time, Smith was drafted in 1990 by the Dallas Cowboys. Emmitt was an integral part of Dallas’ turnaround. The year prior to his arrival, Dallas was 1-15. Within years they were Super Bowl Champions. His presence and consistency in the backfield fueled the Cowboys’ success. Beginning his second year in the league, Emmitt ran off a string of eleven consecutive 1,000 yard rushing seasons, becoming the first back to ever do so. Emmitt Smith tied Jim Brown’s record by starting his career with seven consecutive ten-touchdown seasons. He was Dallas’ workhorse. Accordingly, he is also the league leader in career rushing attempts.
But it was Emmitt Smith’s ability to find the end zone and his post-season play that defined him and solidified his legacy in NFL history. While Sanders racked up rushing yards at a robotic pace, his ability to score lagged well behind Emmitt’s. Within the 1992-95 seasons, Barry Sanders had 30 rushing touchdowns; Emmitt had 74. Within that same period, he also led his team to three Super Bowls, while the Lions lost three consecutive playoff games. Smith ended his career with 175 touchdowns compared to Sanders’ 109. Smith is second in career touchdowns only to the immortal Jerry Rice.
Emmitt’s most impressive season was undoubtedly 1993. Although his numbers that season were not as gaudy as in others, that year Smith became the only back to win a Super Bowl, the NFL MVP, the rushing title and the Super Bowl MVP. The beginning of that season was a contract year for Emmitt. He held out the first two games, both of which Dallas lost, until eventually signing a four-year, $13.6 million deal, making him the highest-paid back in the league at the time. That turned out to be money well spent as the Dallas franchise, with Emmitt back in their lineup, rallied to win 15 of their next 17 games on their way to consecutive Super Bowl victories. While Emmitt was an essential part of Dallas’ success over the years, Detroit may very likely have been just as mediocre without Barry Sanders.
For all his flash and dazzle, Barry Sanders’ post-season career was A-Rodesque at best. In six career playoff games, his Lions were 1-5. Sanders rushed for 386 yards and scored only one post-season touchdown in those six games. Conversely, Emmitt Smith played in 19 post-season games, going 14-5, while scoring 21 touchdowns. Emmitt has scored more Super Bowl touchdowns (5) than any other player in history. Barry also only had one 100-yard rushing game in his post-season career, while Emmitt had seven. Consider that between 1991 and 1996, Emmitt essentially played a whole extra season, by playing in fifteen post-season games, and amassing nearly 2,000 all-purpose yards. Within that time frame, he only missed four games, two of them due to the aforementioned holdout. He was a model of consistency and the driving force behind the 1990s Dallas dynasty.
While Sanders is unquestionably one of the best running backs of all-time, his numbers simply do not live up to those of Emmitt Smith. Sanders was famous for chewing up huge tracks of yardage, but his scoring numbers clearly pale in comparison. While many argue that Emmitt Smith had better players surrounding him, one can also argue that Sanders’ career rushing numbers are inflated as the Lions had no other offensive outlet. What cannot be debated, however, is the difference between these two backs when it mattered most. Year after year, Smith rose to the occasion after the regular season, while Sanders post-season career fluttered. Any such comparison between these two Hall of Fame backs must take those numbers into perspective when determining the better overall back.
