Age: 22
College: Auburn
Height: 5’11” Weight: 190
Prelude:
Buffalo’s
running game had been subpar in 1979 with Terry Miller as the feature back, and
the Bills took Cribbs in the second round of the ’80 NFL draft. Small but
versatile – and having gained 4561 all-purpose yards and scored 34 touchdowns
in college - it was anticipated that he would at least initially return kicks,
but he quickly moved into the starting lineup as well.
1980 Season Summary
Appeared in all
16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 306 [4]
Most
attempts, game - 30 (for 90 yds.) vs. Oakland 9/28, (for 118 yds.) vs. New
England 10/26
Yards – 1185 [6, tied with Tony Dorsett]
Most yards,
game – 128 yards (on 18 carries) at San Francisco 12/21
Average gain
– 3.9
TDs – 11 [3,
tied with Tony Dorsett & Curtis Dickey]
100-yard
rushing games – 3
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 52
Most
receptions, game – 9 (for 71 yds.) vs. Miami 9/7
Yards – 415
Most yards,
game - 71 (on 9 catches) vs. Miami 9/7
Average gain
– 8.0
TDs – 1
Kickoff
Returns
Returns – 2
Yards – 39
Average per
return – 19.5
TDs – 0
Punt Returns
Returns – 29 [18, tied with Keith Wright]
Yards – 154
Most yards,
game – 46 (on 3 ret.) at NY Jets 11/9
Average per
return – 5.3
TDs – 0
Longest
return – 16 yards
All-Purpose
yards – 1793 [5]
Passing
Attempts – 1
Completions –
1
Yards – 13
TDs – 0
Scoring
TDs – 12 [5]
Points – 72
Postseason: 1 G (AFC Divisional playoff at San
Diego)
Rushing
attempts – 18
Rushing yards
– 53
Average gain
rushing – 2.9
Rushing TDs –
0
Pass receptions
– 4
Pass
receiving yards - 36
Average yards
per reception – 9.0
Pass
Receiving TDs - 0
Awards & Honors:
AFC Rookie of
the Year: UPI
1st-team
All-AFC: UPI, Pro Football Weekly
Pro Bowl
Bills went 11-5
to finish first in the AFC East with their first winning season in five years.
Lost AFC Divisional playoff to San Diego Chargers (20-14).
Aftermath:
Cribbs
followed up his outstanding rookie season by gaining 1700 yards from scrimmage
in 1981 (1097 rushing, 603 receiving) and was again selected to the Pro Bowl.
Due to a contract holdout, he missed the first two games of the
strike-shortened ’82 season but was effective upon the resumption of play with
633 rushing yards in seven games, although his productivity as a receiver out
of the backfield dropped considerably. Cribbs rebounded in 1983 with 1131
rushing yards and 524 more yards on 57 pass receptions, garnering a third Pro
Bowl selection. He jumped to the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL in 1984 and
led the spring league in rushing with 1467 yards while also catching 39 passes
for 500 yards. He gained a further 1047 rushing yards and caught 41 passes in
1985. With the demise of the USFL, Cribbs returned to the Bills during the ’85
season before moving on to San Francisco for two years in a part-time role. His
career came to an end in a 1988 season split between the Colts and Dolphins. In
the NFL, Cribbs rushed for 5356 yards and 27 TDs on 1309 carries (4.1 avg.) and
caught 224 passes for 2199 yards and 15 touchdowns. With the USFL, he rushed
for 2514 yards on 564 attempts (4.5 avg.) and 15 TDs and had 80 catches for 787
yards and six TDs.
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were named Rookie
of the Year in the NFL, AFL (1960-69), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized
organization (Associated Press – Offense or Defense, Newspaper Enterprise
Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, or the league
itself – Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year).
[Updated 2/4/14]
[Updated 2/4/14]
