Allow me to present to you Atlanta running back Antone Smith’s 2014 play-by-play log in its entirety:

Week 1 vs. NO
Qtr	Time	Score	Down/Dist	Yardline	Description
2	11:40	0 - 13	2nd-and-10	own 20	rushed for 2 yards
2	09:16	0 - 13	1st-and-10	opp 31	rushed for 5 yards
3	00:33	17 - 20	2nd-and-9	own 46	caught pass for 54 yards TOUCHDOWN
Week 2 vs. CIN
Qtr	Time	Score	Down/Dist	Yardline	Description
2	14:49	41701	1st-and-10	own 28	caught pass for 4 yards
2	01:14	41708	3rd-and-4	own 38	target of incomplete pass
4	10:23	41722	1st-and-10	opp 35	caught pass for 15 yards (first down)
4	00:54	41936	1st-and-10	own 41	target of incomplete pass
Week 3 vs. TB
Qtr	Time	Score	Down/Dist	Yardline	Description
1	04:21	36708	1st-and-9	opp 9	rushed for 4 yards
2	09:00	28 - 0	1st-and-10	opp 11	rushed for 10 yards (first down)
3	02:36	49 - 0	1st-and-10	opp 36	rushed for -2 yards
3	01:59	49 - 0	2nd-and-12	opp 38	rushed for 38 yards TOUCHDOWN
Week 4 vs. MIN
Qtr	Time	Score	Down/Dist	Yardline	Description
1	05:23	0 - 7	3rd-and-2	opp 29	rushed for 2 yards (first down)
1	04:47	0 - 7	1st-and-10	opp 27	rushed for 3 yards
2	14:55	41834	2nd-and-10	own 31	rushed for 9 yards
3	01:40	21 - 27	1st-and-10	opp 48	rushed for 48 yards TOUCHDOWN
Week 5 vs. NYG
Qtr	Time	Score	Down/Dist	Yardline	Description
1	03:42	0 - 7	1st-and-10	opp 23	rushed for 2 yards
2	14:59	41827	3rd-and-4	opp 4	caught pass for 1 yards
2	12:33	41919	1st-and-10	own 25	caught pass for 8 yards
3	05:51	13 - 10	3rd-and-4	own 26	caught pass for 74 yards TOUCHDOWN

That’s four long touchdowns on 17 offensive touches.  On his four scoring plays, Smith has gained an incredible 214 yards.  That’s the most in the NFL so far, with Steve Smith (162 yards) and Jordy Nelson (160) rounding out the top three.  Perhaps even more incredible is that Smith has gained 214 yards on scoring plays despite gaining only 63 yards on non-scoring plays.  Here’s a chart I tweeted a couple of days ago, showing yards gained on TDs on the X-axis and yards gained on all other plays on the Y-axis:

As you can see, Smith — on the bottom right there — is a pretty big outlier. After all, how is it even possible for a player gain over 150 more yards on plays that end in the end zone than on all other plays?

Good question!  I looked at all players with at least 2 offensive touchdowns in a season since 1950.  As it turns out, only one player has ever pulled off that feat: Bob Boyd in 1950. You remember Boyd, don’t you? No? As a Rams rookie in 1950, Boyd caught 9 passes for a whopping 220 yards.  How did Boyd gain so many yards on so few catches? Well, four of those receptions were for touchdowns of 33, 42, 63, and 72 yards. On the season, he gained 210 yards on his four catches for touchdowns, and 10 yards on his other five receptions.

He was a rookie, though, and that level of production was a sign of things to come. He would lead the NFL in yards per reception in 1953, and the league in receiving yards in 1954. While gaining more yards on scoring plays than non-scoring plays is pretty rare, it does happen from time to time. The table below shows the just-enough-to-get-Smith’s-2013-season-on-the-list players with more yards gained on scoring plays than non-scoring plays, minimum two touchdowns. As it stands, Smith’s 2014 season would be 2nd all time:

Player	Year	Team	Pos	9/1 Age	TD	Yds on TDs	Yards Not on TDs	Diff
Bob Boyd	1950	RAM	E-DB	22.5	4	210	8	202
Antone Smith	2014	ATL	RB	29	4	214	63	151
John Mackey	1966	BAL	TE	24.9	9	484	339	145
Elroy Hirsch	1951	RAM	E-HB-DE	28.2	17	817	681	136
Bucky Pope	1964	RAM	FL-WR	23.4	10	466	331	135
Mel Gray	1973	STL	WR	24.9	7	323	190	133
Tommy Brooker	1962	DTX	E-K	22.8	3	131	7	124
Dick Compton	1965	HOU	SE-B	25.4	2	125	17	108
Bob Hayes	1965	DAL	SE-WR	22.7	13	551	444	107
Robert Woods	1978	HOU	WR	23.2	2	101	-1	102
Clifton McNeil	1966	CLE	WR-FL-SE	26.3	2	94	0	94
Tom Crabtree	2012	GNB	TE	26.8	3	147	56	91
Bert Rechichar	1953	BAL	DB-LB-HB-E	23.1	2	121	30	91
Wendell Tucker	1968	RAM	WR-FL	25	4	104	20	84
Larry Burton	1978	SDG	WR	26.7	3	105	22	83
Billy Stone	1950	BAL	HB-DB	24.9	5	260	177	83
Charley Ferguson	1962	MIN	WR-TE	22.8	6	223	141	82
Frank Clarke	1960	DAL	E	26.6	3	183	101	82
Jim Seymour	1970	CHI	WR	23.8	4	113	32	81
Duane Allen	1961	RAM	TE	23.9	2	80	0	80
Daryl Turner	1986	SEA	WR	24.7	7	204	130	74
Harold Jackson	1973	RAM	WR-FL	27.7	13	470	396	74
Dobie Craig	1963	OAK	FL-WR-HB	25.5	2	132	64	68
Duane Allen	1962	RAM	TE	24.9	2	79	11	68
Keith Wright	1980	CLE	WR	24.6	3	62	0	62
Bob Hayes	1970	DAL	SE-WR	27.7	11	492	431	61
Babe Dimancheff	1952	CHI	HB	30	2	118	57	61
Steve Bono	1995	KAN	QB	33.3	5	86	27	59
Ken Toler	1982	NWE	WR	23.4	2	63	4	59
Cloyce Box	1952	DET	E-HB	29	15	491	433	58
Howie Livingston	1950	2TM	FB-WB-HB	28.3	2	107	49	58
Warren Wells	1967	OAK	SE-WR	24.8	6	183	126	57
Pete Metzelaars	1991	BUF	TE	31.3	2	55	-1	56
Leon Clarke	1960	CLE	E-FL	27.6	4	120	64	56
Clint Didier	1983	WAS	TE	24.4	4	104	49	55
Dave Parks	1964	SFO	SE-TE-WR	22.7	8	379	324	55
John Adams	1962	CHI	E-FB	24.8	3	83	28	55
Eric Streater	1987	TAM	WR	23.4	2	87	35	52
Morris Bradshaw	1975	OAK	WR	22.9	4	113	62	51
Marshall Johnson	1975	BAL	WR-DB	22.8	2	83	32	51
Mark Malone	1981	PIT	QB-WR	22.8	3	103	55	48
Melvin Baker	1974	MIA	WR	24.1	2	83	38	45
Jerry Tarr	1962	DEN	WR	23	2	128	83	45
Steve Tasker	1990	BUF	WR	28.4	2	44	0	44
Lyneal Alston	1987	PIT	WR	23.1	2	64	20	44
Gloster Richardson	1970	KAN	WR-FL	28.1	2	109	66	43
Lance Alworth	1962	SDG	FL-WR	22.1	3	143	100	43
Bob Trumpy	1969	CIN	TE-WR	24.5	9	438	397	41
Mark Bradley	2006	CHI	WR	24.6	3	161	121	40
Lamont Warren	2002	DET	RB	29.7	2	52	12	40
Preston Ridlehuber	1966	ATL	RB	22.8	2	72	35	37
Gordie Smith	1963	MIN	TE	24.4	2	107	70	37
Angelo Coia	1961	CHI	SE-WR	23.4	3	142	107	35
Gloster Richardson	1971	DAL	WR-FL	29.1	3	102	68	34
Charley Frazier	1969	BOS	WR	30.1	7	169	136	33
Sonny Jurgensen	1965	WAS	QB	31	2	28	-5	33
Lamar Lundy	1957	RAM	DE-E	22.4	3	73	41	32
Jason Dunn	1997	PHI	TE	23.8	2	62	31	31
Ed West	1984	GNB	TE	23.1	5	43	13	30
Ricky Feacher	1980	CLE	WR	26.6	4	137	107	30
Milt Plum	1960	CLE	QB	25.6	2	2	-26	28
Stacy Robinson	1988	NYG	WR	26.5	3	85	58	27
Rocky Ryan	1957	PHI	DB-E	25.2	2	59	32	27
Montell Owens	2008	JAX	RB	24.3	2	43	17	26
Quinn Gray	2006	JAX	QB	27.3	2	26	0	26
Alex Higdon	1988	ATL	TE	22	2	43	17	26
Tom Mitchell	1968	BAL	TE-WR	24	4	71	46	25
Darrel Young	2013	WAS	FB	26.4	4	68	44	24
Spencer Havner	2009	GNB	TE	26.6	4	68	44	24
Moran Norris	2006	SFO	FB	28.2	2	34	10	24
John Thompson	1982	GNB	TE	25.6	2	24	0	24
Don Hasselbeck	1980	NWE	TE	25.4	4	77	53	24
Rich McGeorge	1970	GNB	TE	22	2	29	6	23
Claude King	1961	HOU	HB	22.7	3	78	55	23
Marc Boerigter	2002	KAN	WR	24.3	8	221	199	22
Dietrich Jells	1999	PHI	WR	27.4	2	101	79	22
Michael Haynes	1988	ATL	WR	22.7	4	127	105	22
Jerry Tagge	1973	GNB	QB	23.4	2	42	20	22
Antone Smith	2013	ATL	RB	28	2	88	67	21
Joel Dreessen	2007	HOU	TE	25.1	2	38	17	21
Ben Utecht	2005	IND	TE	24.2	2	40	19	21

Some notes:

• In 1966, John Mackey had touchdowns of 89, 83, 79, 64, 57, 51, 26, 18, and 17 yards. The former Colt not only was a first-team All-Pro, but he also gained more yards on his scoring plays than non-scoring plays. That’s pretty incredible, especially for a tight end.

• In 1951, Elroy Hirsch gained 817 yards… on his touchdowns! That insane level of production by Crazy Legs will never be matched again. He caught 17 touchdowns that year, including from 91, 71, 79, 76, and 72 yards out.

• I was glad to see Marc Boerigter make the list, as Antone Smith did conjure up memories of his 2002 season, at least for your author. That year, the Chief wideout came out of nowhere to catch a 99-yard touchdown and seven more scores despite hauling in just 20 passes.

The only running backs in recent times to make the list are fullback types — Washington’s Darrel Young, Jacksonville’s Montell Owens, and San Francisco’s Moran Norris. The last true halfback to make the list was Lamont Warren in his final days in Detroit, when he totaled just 64 yards from scrimmage. And you have to go back a much longer time — well before the merger — to find any running back coming close to doing what Smith is doing (Baltimore’s Billy Stone, perhaps?).

If there’s a takeaway from this post, it’s an obvious one: let’s just hope Smith gets more touches soon.