Age: 25 (Oct.
28)
3rd
season in pro football & with Broncos
College: Georgia
Height: 5’11” Weight: 200
Prelude:
Unheralded
coming out of college, Davis was taken by the Broncos in the sixth round of the
1995 NFL draft and emerged to rush for 1117 yards and catch 49 passes. In 1996
he ran for 1538 yards to lead the AFC and was named NFL Offensive Player of the
Year by the Associated Press as well as being a consensus first-team All-Pro
and selected to the Pro Bowl.
1997 Season Summary
Appeared and
started in 15 of 16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 369
[2]
Most
attempts, game – 42 (for 207 yds.) at Buffalo 10/26
Yards – 1750
[2, 1st in AFC]
Most yards,
game – 215 yards (on 27 carries) vs. Cincinnati 9/21
Average gain
– 4.7 [7]
TDs – 15 [1,
tied with Karim Abdul-Jabbar]
200-yard
rushing games – 2
100-yard
rushing games – 10
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 42
Most
receptions, game – 7 (for 70 yds.) at Oakland 10/19
Yards – 287
Most yards,
game – 70 (on 7 catches) at Oakland 10/19
Average gain
– 6.8
TDs – 0
All-purpose yards –
2030 [4, 1st in AFC]
Scoring
TDs – 15 [2]
2-pt conversions – 3 [1, tied with Cris Carter]
Points – 96
[20, tied with Karim Abdul-Jabbar]
Postseason: 4 G
Rushing
attempts – 112
Most rushing
attempts, game – 31 vs. Jacksonville, AFC Wild Card playoff
Rushing yards
– 581
Most rushing
yards, game – 184 vs. Jacksonville, AFC Wild Card playoff
Average gain
rushing – 5.2
Rushing TDs –
8
100-yard
rushing games – 4
Pass
receptions – 8
Most pass
receptions, game – 4 vs. Jacksonville, AFC Wild Card playoff
Pass
receiving yards – 38
Most pass
receiving yards, game – 17 at Kansas City, AFC Divisional playoff
Average yards
per reception – 4.8
Pass
Receiving TDs – 0
Awards & Honors:
1st
team All-NFL: AP, PFWA, Sporting News
1st
team All-AFC: Pro Football Weekly
Pro Bowl
Broncos went 12-4
to finish second in the AFC West and qualified for the postseason as a Wild
Card while leading the NFL in total yards (5872), touchdowns (55), and scoring
(472 points). Won AFC Wild Card playoff over Jacksonville Jaguars (42-17), AFC
Divisional playoff over Kansas City Chiefs (14-10), AFC Championship over
Pittsburgh Steelers (24-21) & Super Bowl over Green Bay Packers (31-24).
Aftermath:
Davis rushed
for 2008 yards and 21 touchdowns in 1998 and received consensus league MVP honors while the Broncos repeated as NFL Champions.
But after rushing for 6413 yards in four years, Davis gained just 211 yards on
the ground in ‘99 as he sustained a major knee injury in the fourth game. Returning
in 2000, he struggled, appearing in only five contests and rushing for 282
yards. Davis ran for 701 yards in one last injury-riddled season in 2001. For
his career, he gained 7607 yards on 1655 carries and added another 1280 yards on
169 pass receptions. Davis was a consensus first-team All-NFL selection three
times and was selected to as many Pro Bowls in his short but productive career.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were 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
He is probably in the HOF today if not for that 99 injury. He may still make it.
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