**
Photos of Doug Martin's 97-yard performance against the Colts, which put him over 1,000 yards rushing on the season.
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.
- Doug Martin *
2015
202
1038
5.14
- LeGarrette Blount
2010
201
1007
5.01
- James Wilder
1987
106
488
4.60
4.Thomas Jones
2003
137
627
4.58
- Warrick Dunn
2000
248
1133
4.57
- Doug Martin
2012
319
1454
4.56
- Ricky Bell
1979
283
1263
4.46
- Charles Sims *
2015
80
353
4.41
- Warrick Dunn
1997
224
978
4.37
- 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.
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
- 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
- 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.)
