History of the Detroit Lions that feat was Buddy Parker, in 1952–53 during his second and third seasons at the helm. In 1997, Barry Sanders ran for 2,053 rushing yards. At the time, his career total rushing 15,269 yards was second only to Walter Payton's 16,726 yards and he joined Jim Brown as the only players among the NFL's 50 all-time rushing leaders to average 5 yards a carry, but he retired abruptly after the 1998 season. Emmitt Smith has since broken Payton's record, accumulating 18,355 career rushing yards, which bumped down Sanders to the #3 spot on the list of total career rushing yards.
Cadillac Williams limited carries. However, in his next four games, he averaged over 100 yards per game (408). In his rookie season, Williams tallied six 100-yard games in 14 starts, and led all rookies in total rushing yards (1,178), rookie of the week honors (3), and finished second, behind Brandon Jacobs for rushing touchdowns (6). On January 4, 2006, Williams was awarded the Associated Press NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award. He drew 47 votes of a nationwide panel of 50 sports writers and broadcasters who cover the NFL. He beat former running mate Ronnie Brown of Miami, who received one