Age: 24
4th
season in pro football, 1st with Steelers
College: Notre
Dame
Height: 5’11” Weight: 243
Prelude:
After gaining
over a thousand all-purpose yards in his last college season, Bettis was taken
by the Rams in the first round (10th overall) of the 1993 NFL draft.
Head Coach Chuck Knox anticipated that the classic fullback would be the key to
the team’s running game with his hard-running style and demonstrated ability to
hold onto the football. Bettis had an immediate impact, rushing for 1429 yards
and receiving first-team All-NFL and Pro Bowl recognition in addition to
numerous Rookie of the Year honors. In 1994, Bettis tailed off badly during the
second half of the season and, while he still gained 1025 rushing yards and was
selected to the Pro Bowl (and also caught a career-high 31 passes), averaged
just 3.2 yards per carry. After running for only 637 yards behind a poor line
following the shift of the Rams to St. Louis in ’95, Bettis was traded to the
Steelers. “The Bus” rejuvenated his career in Pittsburgh, where his
power-running style was a perfect fit.
1996 Season Summary
Appeared in all
16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 320
[6]
Most
attempts, game – 29 (for 115 yds.) vs. Houston 9/29
Yards – 1431 [3]
Most yards,
game – 133 yards (on 20 carries) vs. Buffalo 9/16
Average gain
– 4.5 [7]
TDs – 11 [6,
tied with Barry Sanders & Karim Abdul-Jabbar]
100-yard
rushing games – 10
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 22
Most
receptions, game – 5 (for 40 yds.) at Kansas City 10/7
Yards – 122
Most yards,
game – 40 (on 5 catches) at Kansas City 10/7
Average gain
– 5.5
TDs – 0
Scoring
TDs – 11 [9,
tied with four others]
Points – 66
Postseason: 2 G
Rushing
attempts – 38
Most rushing
attempts, game – 25 vs. Indianapolis, AFC Wild Card playoff
Rushing yards
– 145
Most rushing
yards, game – 102 vs. Indianapolis, AFC Wild Card playoff
Average gain
rushing – 3.8
Rushing TDs –
2
Pass
receptions – 3
Most pass
receptions, game – 2 at New England, AFC Divisional playoff
Pass
receiving yards – 3
Most pass
receiving yards, game – 4 vs. Indianapolis, AFC Wild Card playoff
Average yards
per reception – 1.0
Pass
Receiving TDs – 0
Awards & Honors:
1st-team
All-NFL: AP
1st-team
All-AFC: UPI, Pro Football Weekly
Pro Bowl
Steelers went
10-6 to finish first in the AFC Central while ranking second in the NFL in
rushing (2299 yards). Won AFC Wild Card playoff over Indianapolis Colts
(42-14). Lost AFC Divisional playoff to New England Patriots (28-3).
Aftermath:
The 1996
season was the first of six straight 1000-yard performances for Bettis. He
reached his career high in rushing with 1665 yards in 1997, again being
selected to the Pro Bowl and garnering first-team All-AFC honors from Pro
Football Weekly. Bettis received Pro Bowl honors for the last time at age 32 in
2004, when he rushed for a career-high 13 touchdowns, and capped his career in
’05 in a backup role on a team that won the Super Bowl. Overall, he played a
total of 13 years, the last 10 with the Steelers, and rushed for 13,662 yards,
which ranked fifth all-time, and scored a total of 94 touchdowns (91 rushing, 3
receiving). “The Bus” was selected to the Pro Bowl six times and gained
election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2015.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense:
Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
