NFL History: 21 Years Ago Today, Emmett Smith Surpassed Walter Payton to Set a New Rushing Benchmark

Today marks a special day for the NFL, especially the Running Backs throughout the league. The late 90s and early 2000s were a special era in the NFL as we saw players like Emmett Smith and Walter Payton grace the game with their exceptional athleticism. Though Walter Payton belongs to a decade-old era, Emmett Smith followed in his footsteps and made himself look even better.

A tweet from ESPN Stats & Info tells us exactly what Emmett Smith is doing these days and how he etched his name in the history books, surpassing the legends of his time. He has literally set a benchmark for all the running backs across the league. He holds a record that no one has been able to break till now.

Emmett Smith for the touchdown!

The post from ESPN says that on this day, Emmett Smith surpassed Walter Payton to become the leading RB to have the NFL’s all-time rushing record. Smith took it one step further and not only surpassed Payton with significant yards but also has stayed undefeated over all these years, considering how he retired back in 2004 as a running back for the Arizona Cardinals. It was on this day, 21 years ago, when Smith broke the barriers placed by Walter Payton.

He started his career with the Dallas Cowboys in 1990 and stayed loyal to them till the 2003 season, after which he decided to move on to the Arizona Cardinals. He has played more than 200 games with the Dallas Cowboys and is not short of any accolades. Throughout his career, he earned 18,355 rushing yards and 164 touchdowns to his name. Not only that, but the RB also has 164 touchdowns in his career. Not to mention the 4,409 times he carried the ball.

Coming to his counterpart, Walter Payton has had quite a career of his own.

The Indomitable Journey of Walter Payton

The legend Walter Payton started his career with the Chicago Bears back in 1975 and played for the same team throughout his career. When he was finally done with his football career, he had 16,726 rushing yards to his name along with a total of 110 touchdowns while averaging 4.4 yards per carry. This was an exceptional performance at the time and no one except Emmett Smith has been able to take over that record till now.

Along with this, he had 492 receptions in his career and accumulated 4,538 passing yards in his 13 seasons with the Chicago Bears. Payton also has 15 receiving touchdowns throughout his career and has an average of 9.2 yards per reception. Things just couldn’t get any better for Payton before Emmett Smith jumped in.

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Smith is still the undefeated champion of rushing yards and TDs. Who do you think can overtake him?

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