THROWBACK: Take A Look at Running Back Thurman Thomas’ Astonishing Success in Rushing Yards From Scrimmage

Thurman Thomas 13-year career in the NFL. He played for the Buffalo Bills for 12 years before moving south to the Miami Dolphins. Here a career-ending knee injury ended his time at the ‘Phins’ in 2000 after just 9 games. He was 34 at the time. Nevertheless, the running back had a memorable career and holds a record that stands even today nearly 27 years after it was set.

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Thurman Thomas sets insane yards from scrimmage records with Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills drafted the Oklahoma State player in the second round. However, he was their first pick and the 40th overall. 

A year after the draft Thurman Thomas led the league in rushing yards from scrimmage with 1,244.  In the next season, he improved on his own tally to record 1,297 yards en route to a Super Bowl appearance. Fans regard him as extremely unfortunate to miss out on an MVP Award at Super Bowl XXV. 

Thomas recorded 135 rushing yards and scored a touchdown in the second half. However, the Bills missed out on glory as kicker Norwood missed a field goal by a yard with just 8 seconds left on the clock. 

The running back continued in the same vein in 1991 and rushed for 1,407 yards en route to another AFC Championship win. However, the team choked in the final losing to Washington Redskins. Thurman Thomas didn’t feature from the start as he couldn’t find his helmet. 

In 1992, the Bills’ offense had another exceptional year with Thurman setting a career-best 1,487 yards from scrimmage. Unfortunately, Thomas fell in the playoffs to a hip injury and was used as a backup in the Super Bowl. Here the Cowboys decimated The Bills 52-17. 

The next 4 years to saw Thomas cross the 1,000 mark in yards from scrimmage. He reached the Super Bowl in 1993 but rushed for just 37 yards as he finished on the losing side for the 4th successive year. 

Despite his atrocious time in Super Bowl games, Thomas’ NFL 4-peat of leading the league in yards from scrimmage is something he can hold dear. Besides this, the 2007 Hall of Famer holds the Buffalo Bills record for most yards from scrimmage. He rushed 16,279 yards in a dozen seasons. 

What’s even more astonishing is the fact that he did it with a partially torn ACL.

In addition to this, the running back made it to 5 straight Pro-Bowls and was the 1991 MVP. Noticeably none of his accolades came after 1994. Was it because of the injury? Or because teams had finally figured out how to play the Bills? Or was it the knee injury catching up to the running back?