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Chicago Bears Dominate Top 3 in Greatest RB Rankings

By Erik Lambert

Walter Payton #34, Running Back for the Chicago Bears during his final game in the American Football Conference West game against the Los Angeles Raiders on 27 December 1987 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, United States. The Bears won the game 6 - 3. Visions of Sport. (Photo by Mike Powell/Allsport/Getty Images)
Walter Payton #34, Running Back for the Chicago Bears during his final game in the American Football Conference West game against the Los Angeles Raiders on 27 December 1987 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, United States. The Bears won the game 6 - 3. Visions of Sport. (Photo by Mike Powell/Allsport/Getty Images) /
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It’s no secret few teams have a greater legacy at the running back position than the Chicago Bears. One merely has to look at the stats for an idea.

Four players have topped at least 5,000 yards rushing in franchise history. No fewer than 29 players who have manned that position have reached a Pro Bowl at least once in their careers. It’s staggering how good the Bears have been at finding talent for their backfield over the years. The dual presence of Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen is merely the latest example of that success.

The interesting part of all this is asking the big question. Where do the Bears rank in NFL history compared to other teams? There are plenty of contenders for the crown including Dallas with Emmitt Smith and Tony Dorsett or the Rams with Eric Dickerson and Marshall Faulk. Buffalo is also a challenger with Thurman Thomas and O.J. Simpson.

Even so, according to longtime NFL analyst and former executive Gil Brandt, when it comes to team success there is none better than the Monsters of the Midway.

Sweetness and the Kansas Comet bring home the bacon for Bears

Brandt is an old school guy. So it wasn’t a surprise when his top 25 ranking of the greatest running backs ever featured Cleveland Browns icon Jim Brown #1 overall. Many still profess to this day that Brown might be the best football player ever. Though denied the top spot, Chicago made its voice heard when it locked up not just the #2 slot, but #3 as well.

"“3. Gale SayersChicago Bears, 1965-1971» Voted to Pro Bowl four times; First Team All-Pro five times» Led league in rushing twice» 4,956 rushing yards, 39 rushing touchdowns» Enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame2. Walter PaytonChicago Bears, 1975-1987» One-time Super Bowl champion» One-time NFL MVP» Voted to Pro Bowl nine times, First Team All-Pro seven times» 16,726 career rushing yards, 110 career rushing touchdowns, 15 receiving touchdowns» Enshrined in Pro Football Hall of Fame”"

Payton is far from a surprise. He was the first to break Brown’s all-time rushing record and also held the career touchdowns mark when he retired until Jerry Rice finally broke it. Brown may have been a terrific runner, maybe the best, but Payton could argue he was a better receiver and blocker. Truly an all-around legendary football player.

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The bigger surprise is Sayers coming in at #3. His career only spanned 68 games. It’s hard to imagine him getting the nod over names like Smith, Dickerson, and Barry Sanders. Still, it’s worth pointing out that he made such an impact in those 68 games that he managed to reach the Pro Football Hall of Fame. No other player can make that claim. The period before he got hurt he was quite literally untouchable. People hadn’t seen something like him before.

It’s nice to see Brandt acknowledge that.

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