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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Doug Martin Leads NFL in Yards Per Carry

Martin reached several milestones during the Bucs' Week 12 matchup with the Colts.

Nov 30, 2015 at 06:46 AM
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Scott Smith

Senior Writer/Editor

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Photos: Doug Martin Reaches 1,000 Yards

Photos of Doug Martin's 97-yard performance against the Colts, which put him over 1,000 yards rushing on the season.

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Doug Martinled the way on the offensive side in another strong ground-game performance for the Buccaneers. He carried 14 times for 97 yards,narrowly missing his fifth 100-yard rushing game* in 2015. Martin's own personal high is five 100-yard games in a season, set in his 2012 rookie season. The team record is six, established by Cadillac Williams in *his rookie campaign of 2005.

RELATED: MARTIN BATTLING FOR RUSHING TITLE

Martin averaged 6.9 yards per carry against the Colts, the third time this year he's hit that mark or higher and the fifth time he's averaged more than five yards per carry. His 5.14 yards per carry this year are the best in the NFL among all players with at least 100 totes. That average would also set a new franchise single-season record if he can maintain it through the end of the year. Even if one establishes a qualifier of at least 100 carries in a season, the Bucs could end up with two of the top 10 performances in team history. Charles Sims has not 100 carries yet but is a good bet to do so and is averaging 4.41 yards on his carries.

Player

Season

No.

Yds.

Avg.

  1. Doug Martin *

2015

202

1038

5.14

  1. LeGarrette Blount

2010

201

1007

5.01

  1. James Wilder

1987

106

488

4.60

4.Thomas Jones

2003

137

627

4.58

  1. Warrick Dunn

2000

248

1133

4.57

  1. Doug Martin

2012

319

1454

4.56

  1. Ricky Bell

1979

283

1263

4.46

  1. Charles Sims *

2015

80

353

4.41

  1. Warrick Dunn

1997

224

978

4.37

  1. Earnest Graham

2008

132

563

4.27

* Through 11 games

Of course, you might also notice from the chart above that Martin has now gone over 1,000 rushing yards on the season. That's the second time in four seasons he has done that, and he now shares the team's all-time lead in 1,000-yard campaigns. James Wilder (1984, 1985), Errict Rhett (1994, 1995) and Warrick Dunn (1998, 2000) all had a pair of such seasons as well. Martin and Dunn are the only two to do so in non-consecutive seasons.

Martin ranks second on the NFL's rushing yardage chart so far this season, 126 yards behind Minnesota's Adrian Peterson (1,164). If Martin could catch Peterson and hold off any other challengers, he could become the first Buccaneer ever to lead the NFL in rushing, receiving or passing yards in a season.

Martin got 56 of his 97 rushing yards on Sunday on one breakaway run in the second quarter, which set up a Cameron Brate touchdown catch. That is Martin's third run of 50 or more yards in the last two weeks, and his third of the season. He is tied for the league lead in runs of that length:

50+-Yard Runs, NFL, 2015

Player

Team

No.

1t. Doug Martin

Tampa Bay

3

1t. Todd Gurley

St. Louis

3

3t. Adrian Peterson

Minnesota

2

3t. DeAngelo Williams

Pittsburgh

2

In his four NFL seasons, Martin has recorded six carries of 50 or more yards and 11 of 40 or more yards. Both are the highest totals in franchise history. Warrick Dunn is second in both categories, with five 50+-yarders and nine 40+-yarders. No other back in team history has more than four in either category. Martin has 25 carries of 10 or more yards this year, which is second in the NFL to Peterson's 38.

READ: WINSTON BREAKS BUCS ROOKIE RECORD

Martin actually crossed into quadruple digits on the season on his most recent 50+-yard jaunt on Saturday. Earlier in the same game, he moved up a spot on the Buccaneers' all-time rushing list, leap-frogging Michael Pittman to land in fifth place. He is just 225 yards behind Cadillac Williams, who is currently in fourth place. Here are the top 10 rushers in Buccaneer annals:

Player

Seasons

Games

Yards

  1. James Wilder

1981-89

113

5,957

2. Mike Alstott

1996-07

158

5,088

3. Warrick Dunn

1997-01, 08

91

4,986

4. Carnell Williams

2005-10

70

3,677

5. Doug Martin

2012-15

44

3,442

6. Michael Pittman

2002-07

87

3,364

7. Reggie Cobb

1990-93

60

3,061

8. Ricky Bell

1977-81

60

3,057

9. Errict Rhett

1994-97

52

2,853

  1. Earnest Graham

2004-11

98

2,047

Among those top 10 Buccaneer rushers, Martin has been by far the most prolific on a per-game basis so far. Martin's average of 78.2 yards per game played is more than 20 yards per game higher than the second man on the list, Errict Rhett (54.9 ypg.)

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