Johnson ran for 142 yards and a touchdown in Tennessee's 42-17 loss to San Diego on Christmas night.
However, even though the Titans don’t have more to play for besides a .500 finish (which is an astounding feat in itself), there will be a big reason to watch in Seattle next Sunday, as Chris Johnson is within touching distance of 2,000 yards.
Due to Vince Young’s struggles through the air and the fact that Tennessee was playing catch-up for most of the game, Johnson was limited to just 21 carries, which was only the second time he was held to below 24 carries in the last nine games. But he made the most of those 21 carries, totaling 142 yards and rushing for a 30-yard touchdown on what proved to be his final carry of the night.
Johnson now has 1,872 yards through 15 games, leaving him just 128 yards away from becoming the sixth NFL back to reach 2,000 yards rushing in a season.
How do his numbers stack up against the previous 2,000 yard rushers? O.J. Simpson is omitted since his season ended after 14 games, but below are Johnson’s numbers vs. those of the 16-game era‘s 2,000 yard rushers.
Eric Dickerson (1984 - 2,105 yards)
Week 16 (vs. Houston): 27 carries, 215 yards, 2 TD
After Week 16: 353 carries, 2,007 yards, 13 TD
Week 17 (at San Francisco): 26 carries, 98 yards, TD
Barry Sanders (1997 - 2,053 yards)
Week 16 (at Minnesota): 19 carries, 138 yards
After Week 16: 312 carries, 1,869 yards, 10 TD
Week 17 (vs. New York Jets): 23 carries, 184 yards, TD
Terrell Davis (1998 - 2,008 yards)
Week 16 (at Miami): 16 carries, 29 yards
After Week 16: 363 carries, 1,830 yards, 21 TD
Week 17 (vs. Seattle): 29 carries, 178 yards
Jamal Lewis (2003 - 2,066 yards)
Week 16: 22 carries, 205 yards, 2 TD
After Week 16: 360 carries, 1,952 yards, 13 TD
Week 17 (vs. Pittsburgh): 27 carries, 114 yards, TD
Chris Johnson (2009 - ???)
Week 16 (vs. San Diego): 21 carries, 142 yards, TD
After Week 16: 322 carries, 1,872 yards, 12 TD
Week 17 (vs. Seattle): ???
Johnson would need to best the career-high 228 yards by six more in order to break Dickerson’s record, and given his ability to break an 80-yard run at any moment, 234 yards certainly isn’t a stretch, especially when you consider that Frank Gore ran for touchdowns of 80 and 79 yards and 207 yards total against the Seahawks in Week 2.
First up though is reaching the 2,000 yard mark, and that’s easily within reach if Johnson gets the touches that he should. With Tennessee out of the playoff picture heading to Seattle, you’d imagine that Johnson is going to get the ball in his hands early and often.
There’s no telling whether the Seahawks will play like a team ready for a vacation or a team that still has some pride somewhere in there after getting thrashed in their last two games and having a disappointing season overall. But outside of Gore’s Week 2 performance, Seattle’s done mostly well against elite backs, though Ryan Grant did run for 97 yards and two scores (including a 56-yarder) on 16 carries in yesterday’s rout.
Steven Jackson (two games): 39 carries, 156 yards, 0 TD
Adrian Peterson (Week 11): 24 carries, 82 yards, 0 TD
Maurice Jones-Drew (Week 5): 12 carries, 34 yards, 0 TD
Frank Gore (Week 13): 9 carries, 25 yards, 0 TD
Will Johnson be able to eclipse 2,000 yards? I certainly don’t see him being denied when he’s gotten this close, and it’s not out of the question that he could do a whole lot more than just hit 2,000.
