Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown, And Two Teammates Dominating The Pie

by Chase Stuart on October 23, 2017

In 2014, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown combined to account for 57.9% of the Steelers 6,777 total yards. In 2015, Bell missed most of the year with a knee injury, but in 2016, the duo combined to account for 51.8% of Pittsburgh’s offensive yards, despite the pair combining to miss five games! Through six games in 2017, Brown had 700 yards and Bell had 706 yards, placing both of them in the top five in yards from scrimmage. In fact, since the Steelers had 2,165 yards through six weeks, it means Bell and Brown were responsible for 64.9% of the team’s offensive production. In week seven, Bell and Brown combined for 257 yards; only a fake punt that netted 44 yards prevented the pair from again picking up two-thirds of the offense (Pittsburgh had 420 yards of offense, so Bell and Brown had 61.1% of the Steelers yards from scrimmage; that number would have been 68.4% without the fake punt).

That made me wonder: which pair of teammates have accounted for the largest share of their offense’s production? The 1978 Bears had a really good player in the backfield who rushed for 992 yards and caught 43 passes for 340 yards. They also had Walter Payton, who led the NFL for the second straight year with 1,875 yards from scrimmage. His backfield teammate was fullback Roland Harper, who actually finished second on the team to Payton in receptions (WR James Scott did lead the team be a healthy margin in receiving yards).

The ’78 Bears had a mediocre offense, finishing with 4,747 yards from scrimmage (Chicago ranked 27th out of 28 teams in ANY/A, tho the Bears of course were a very good rushing team). But since Payton had 1,875 yards (39.5%) and Harper had 1,332 yards (28.1%), the two combined for over two-thirds of all Chicago yards from scrimmage that season.

The table below shows the top 200 seasons:

Rk	Team	Year	Player 1	% of Tm YFS	Player 2	% of Tm YFS	Tm Yds	Top 2 %
1	CHI	1978	Walter Payton	39.5%	Roland Harper	28.1%	4747	67.6%
2	BOS	1933	Cliff Battles	33.3%	Jim Musick	32.1%	2766	65.4%
3	IND	1999	Edgerrin James	36.6%	Marvin Harrison	28.5%	5842	65.1%
4	BOS	1932	Cliff Battles	43.4%	Jim Musick	21.6%	1465	65%
5	GNB	1972	John Brockington	34.7%	MacArthur Lane	30.2%	3663	64.9%
6	DET	1994	Barry Sanders	41.9%	Herman Moore	22.7%	5165	64.6%
7	DAL	1995	Emmitt Smith	36.1%	Michael Irvin	27%	5942	63.1%
8	CLE	1959	Jim Brown	36.3%	Bobby Mitchell	26.2%	4182	62.5%
9	DAL	1991	Emmitt Smith	33.9%	Michael Irvin	28.3%	5374	62.2%
10	NYG	1956	Frank Gifford	38.1%	Alex Webster	23.9%	3730	62%
11	OAK	1963	Clem Daniels	35.7%	Art Powell	26.1%	5000	61.8%
12	BUF	1973	O.J. Simpson	47.9%	Jim Braxton	13.8%	4324	61.7%
13	ATL	1972	Art Malone	32.2%	Dave Hampton	28.9%	4294	61.1%
14	SEA	1994	Chris Warren	38.2%	Brian Blades	22.8%	4893	61%
15	SDG	2003	LaDainian Tomlinson	44.1%	David Boston	16.7%	5372	60.8%
16	NYG	2005	Tiki Barber	40%	Plaxico Burress	20.3%	5971	60.4%
17	CLE	1960	Jim Brown	34.2%	Bobby Mitchell	26.2%	4273	60.4%
18	CHI	1976	Walter Payton	37.8%	Roland Harper	22.5%	4068	60.3%
19	DET	1997	Barry Sanders	38.9%	Herman Moore	21.3%	6069	60.2%
20	DAL	1992	Emmitt Smith	35.8%	Michael Irvin	24.3%	5718	60.1%
21	CHI	1977	Walter Payton	43.5%	James Scott	16.6%	4881	60%
22	BUF	1975	O.J. Simpson	39.8%	Jim Braxton	19.6%	5635	59.4%
23	CLE	1965	Jim Brown	40.1%	Gary Collins	19.3%	4670	59.4%
24	IND	2000	Edgerrin James	36.7%	Marvin Harrison	22.5%	6272	59.2%
25	CLE	1961	Jim Brown	39.7%	Bobby Mitchell	19.5%	4701	59.2%
26	GNB	1973	John Brockington	36.6%	MacArthur Lane	22.5%	3476	59.1%
27	SFO	1976	Delvin Williams	33.7%	Wilbur Jackson	25.3%	4410	59%
28	HOU	1967	Hoyle Granger	40.9%	Woody Campbell	17.7%	3654	58.6%
29	BAL	1960	Lenny Moore	29.4%	Raymond Berry	29.1%	4453	58.6%
30	NYJ	1999	Curtis Martin	34.7%	Keyshawn Johnson	23.7%	4962	58.4%
31	CLE	1963	Jim Brown	41.9%	Ernie Green	16.3%	5088	58.2%
32	WAS	1964	Charley Taylor	36.4%	Bobby Mitchell	21.8%	4308	58.2%
33	WAS	2005	Clinton Portis	31.3%	Santana Moss	26.8%	5529	58.1%
34	IND	1988	Eric Dickerson	39.8%	Bill Brooks	18.2%	5114	58%
35	PIT	2014	Le'Veon Bell	32.7%	Antonio Brown	25.2%	6777	57.9%
36	NYG	2006	Tiki Barber	39.4%	Plaxico Burress	18.3%	5400	57.7%
37	CLE	1967	Leroy Kelly	33.4%	Ernie Green	24.2%	4453	57.6%
38	SFO	2006	Frank Gore	43.1%	Antonio Bryant	14.5%	5062	57.5%
39	KAN	2006	Larry Johnson	40.8%	Tony Gonzalez	16.7%	5386	57.5%
40	CLE	1964	Jim Brown	38%	Paul Warfield	19.6%	4705	57.5%
41	BAL	2003	Jamal Lewis	43.7%	Todd Heap	13.8%	5191	57.5%
42	CIN	1973	Essex Johnson	28.9%	Boobie Clark	28.6%	4675	57.5%
43	RAI	1985	Marcus Allen	40.3%	Todd Christensen	17.2%	5743	57.5%
44	IND	1998	Marshall Faulk	42.6%	Marvin Harrison	14.9%	5225	57.5%
45	STL	2006	Steven Jackson	38.1%	Torry Holt	19.4%	6133	57.4%
46	ATL	1998	Jamal Anderson	37%	Tony Martin	20.2%	5845	57.2%
47	DET	1995	Barry Sanders	30.3%	Herman Moore	26.9%	6263	57.2%
48	NYJ	2001	Curtis Martin	37.2%	Laveranues Coles	19.8%	4925	57%
49	ATL	1981	William Andrews	34.2%	Alfred Jenkins	22.8%	5951	57%
50	CLE	1977	Greg Pruitt	34%	Cleo Miller	22.9%	4574	56.9%
51	TAM	1984	James Wilder	39.2%	Kevin House	17.7%	5683	56.9%
52	NYG	2004	Tiki Barber	41.9%	Amani Toomer	14.9%	5001	56.8%
53	DET	1996	Barry Sanders	32.2%	Herman Moore	24.6%	5273	56.8%
54	DAL	1994	Emmitt Smith	33.7%	Michael Irvin	22.9%	5414	56.6%
55	OAK	1997	Napoleon Kaufman	30.7%	Tim Brown	25.8%	5532	56.5%
56	ATL	2015	Julio Jones	30.1%	Devonta Freeman	26.3%	6208	56.5%
57	MIA	2003	Ricky Williams	35.8%	Chris Chambers	20.6%	4818	56.4%
58	TEN	2009	Chris Johnson	44%	Kenny Britt	12.3%	5696	56.4%
59	DAL	2014	DeMarco Murray	35.5%	Dez Bryant	20.7%	6362	56.3%
60	MIN	1967	Dave Osborn	33.1%	Bill Brown	23.2%	3762	56.3%
61	SDG	2007	LaDainian Tomlinson	37.4%	Antonio Gates	18.9%	5214	56.3%
62	NYG	1949	Gene Roberts	37.8%	Bill Swiacki	18.3%	3561	56.1%
63	NOR	2002	Deuce McAllister	31.9%	Joe Horn	24.1%	5449	56%
64	RAM	1986	Eric Dickerson	41.9%	Barry Redden	14.1%	4837	56%
65	NYG	1943	Bill Paschal	29.6%	Ward Cuff	26.4%	2180	56%
66	DAL	1993	Emmitt Smith	32.9%	Michael Irvin	23.1%	5778	56%
67	DET	2008	Calvin Johnson	28.7%	Kevin Smith	27.3%	4631	56%
68	DEN	1998	Terrell Davis	35.5%	Rod Smith	20.5%	6276	55.9%
69	SDG	2002	LaDainian Tomlinson	39.5%	Curtis Conway	16.4%	5505	55.9%
70	BAL	2002	Jamal Lewis	36%	Travis Taylor	19.8%	4910	55.9%
71	STL	1960	John David Crow	35.3%	Sonny Randle	20.5%	4346	55.8%
72	CHI	2012	Brandon Marshall	28.6%	Matt Forte	27.2%	5268	55.8%
73	PIT	1997	Jerome Bettis	31.2%	Yancey Thigpen	24.6%	5694	55.8%
74	NYJ	1964	Matt Snell	32.3%	Bake Turner	23.5%	4151	55.8%
75	NOR	2003	Deuce McAllister	38.2%	Joe Horn	17.5%	5641	55.8%
76	NYG	2002	Tiki Barber	33.2%	Amani Toomer	22.5%	5978	55.7%
77	SDG	1972	Mike Garrett	28.3%	Cid Edwards	27.4%	4511	55.7%
78	GNB	1971	John Brockington	29.6%	Donny Anderson	26.1%	4071	55.7%
79	SFO	1988	Roger Craig	32.8%	Jerry Rice	22.8%	6198	55.6%
80	BUF	1976	O.J. Simpson	37.9%	Bob Chandler	17.7%	4650	55.6%
81	IND	1994	Marshall Faulk	39.4%	Sean Dawkins	16.2%	4579	55.6%
82	MIN	2012	Adrian Peterson	41.6%	Percy Harvin	13.9%	5569	55.4%
83	SEA	1998	Ricky Watters	33.3%	Joey Galloway	22.1%	4845	55.4%
84	CLE	1985	Earnest Byner	28.3%	Kevin Mack	27.1%	5170	55.4%
85	TAM	2012	Doug Martin	32.2%	Vincent Jackson	23.1%	5981	55.3%
86	CHI	1966	Gale Sayers	42.6%	Jim Jones	12.6%	3943	55.2%
87	GNB	1970	Donny Anderson	33.4%	Carroll Dale	21.7%	3791	55.1%
88	CHI	2013	Matt Forte	30.8%	Alshon Jeffery	24.3%	6278	55.1%
89	HOU	1964	Charley Hennigan	30.4%	Sid Blanks	24.7%	5081	55.1%
90	WAS	1972	Larry Brown	38.7%	Charley Taylor	16.3%	4363	55%
91	CHI	2014	Matt Forte	33.7%	Alshon Jeffery	21.3%	5476	55%
92	CAR	2005	Steve Smith	30.8%	DeShaun Foster	24.2%	5164	55%
93	DAL	1972	Calvin Hill	29.8%	Walt Garrison	25%	4704	54.7%
94	STL	1999	Marshall Faulk	36.6%	Isaac Bruce	18%	6639	54.6%
95	RAM	1984	Eric Dickerson	42.8%	Henry Ellard	11.8%	5246	54.5%
96	CHI	1979	Walter Payton	39.1%	Dave Williams	15.4%	4915	54.5%
97	NYG	1951	Eddie Price	31.5%	Joe Scott	23%	3145	54.5%
98	JAX	2011	Maurice Jones-Drew	44.2%	Marcedes Lewis	10.3%	4480	54.5%
99	NOR	2001	Ricky Williams	31.6%	Joe Horn	22.8%	5556	54.4%
100	MIA	2002	Ricky Williams	39.8%	Chris Chambers	14.6%	5571	54.4%
101	NYG	1944	Bill Paschal	30.8%	Ward Cuff	23.4%	2389	54.3%
102	PHI	1979	Wilbert Montgomery	37.8%	Harold Carmichael	16.4%	5303	54.3%
103	SDG	2006	LaDainian Tomlinson	38.8%	Antonio Gates	15.4%	5990	54.2%
104	GNB	1995	Edgar Bennett	28.7%	Robert Brooks	25.4%	5967	54.2%
105	PHI	1963	Timmy Brown	32.4%	Pete Retzlaff	21.8%	4104	54.2%
106	CLE	2005	Reuben Droughns	33.2%	Antonio Bryant	21%	4826	54.1%
107	CAR	2008	DeAngelo Williams	28.6%	Steve Smith	25.5%	5725	54.1%
108	DET	1989	Barry Sanders	32.8%	Richard Johnson	21.2%	5335	54%
109	HOU	2004	Domanick Williams	32.7%	Andre Johnson	21.3%	5429	54%
110	SEA	2001	Shaun Alexander	32.6%	Darrell Jackson	21.4%	5100	53.9%
111	JAX	2002	Fred Taylor	33.7%	Jimmy Smith	20.1%	5108	53.9%
112	MIN	2000	Robert Smith	30.4%	Randy Moss	23.5%	6148	53.9%
113	WAS	2004	Clinton Portis	33.4%	Laveranues Coles	20.4%	4639	53.8%
114	STL	1983	Ottis Anderson	31%	Roy Green	22.8%	5586	53.8%
115	ARI	2001	David Boston	32%	Michael Pittman	21.8%	5102	53.8%
116	PHI	2007	Brian Westbrook	35.2%	Kevin Curtis	18.6%	5979	53.8%
117	HOU	2010	Arian Foster	34.6%	Andre Johnson	19.1%	6412	53.7%
118	OAK	1964	Clem Daniels	28.3%	Art Powell	25.4%	5366	53.7%
119	CRD	1956	Ollie Matson	31.7%	Johnny Olszewski	22%	3545	53.7%
120	CLE	1958	Jim Brown	38.9%	Bobby Mitchell	14.7%	4284	53.6%
121	PHI	1933	Swede Hanson	38.1%	Jack Roberts	15.4%	1733	53.5%
122	PHI	1999	Duce Staley	37.7%	Torrance Small	15.8%	4151	53.5%
123	SEA	1988	John Williams	30.2%	Curt Warner	23.3%	5065	53.4%
124	BUF	1972	O.J. Simpson	35%	J.D. Hill	18.5%	4144	53.4%
125	BUF	1989	Thurman Thomas	31.4%	Andre Reed	22%	6095	53.4%
126	WAS	1973	Larry Brown	33.6%	Charley Taylor	19.9%	3999	53.4%
127	IND	2002	Marvin Harrison	30.1%	Edgerrin James	23.3%	5761	53.4%
128	KAN	2010	Jamaal Charles	33.3%	Dwayne Bowe	20%	5816	53.3%
129	CHI	1956	Rick Casares	28.5%	Harlon Hill	24.7%	4661	53.2%
130	CIN	2004	Rudi Johnson	28.7%	Chad Johnson	24.5%	5359	53.2%
131	PIT	1976	Rocky Bleier	27.1%	Franco Harris	26.1%	4906	53.2%
132	RAI	1982	Marcus Allen	34.7%	Cliff Branch	18.5%	3166	53.2%
133	DEN	1997	Terrell Davis	33.5%	Rod Smith	19.7%	6082	53.2%
134	NYJ	2003	Curtis Martin	30.4%	Santana Moss	22.7%	5159	53.1%
135	ATL	2008	Michael Turner	29.6%	Roddy White	23.6%	5883	53.1%
136	JAX	2004	Fred Taylor	30.4%	Jimmy Smith	22.7%	5165	53.1%
137	BUF	1974	O.J. Simpson	34.4%	Jim Braxton	18.7%	3822	53.1%
138	PHI	1962	Timmy Brown	29.1%	Tommy McDonald	23.9%	4787	53.1%
139	DET	1992	Barry Sanders	32.9%	Herman Moore	20.2%	4794	53%
140	SFO	1977	Delvin Williams	28.6%	Wilbur Jackson	24.4%	3883	53%
141	CRD	1943	John Grigas	30.9%	Ed Rucinski	22.1%	1804	53%
142	BUF	2006	Lee Evans	28.1%	Willis McGahee	24.9%	4603	53%
143	NYJ	1965	Don Maynard	28.8%	Matt Snell	24.2%	4243	53%
144	RAI	1994	Harvey Williams	27.1%	Tim Brown	25.8%	5068	52.9%
145	KAN	2002	Priest Holmes	37.2%	Eddie Kennison	15.7%	6141	52.9%
146	SDG	2001	LaDainian Tomlinson	29.8%	Curtis Conway	23.1%	5380	52.9%
147	CHI	1982	Walter Payton	33.1%	Matt Suhey	19.7%	2737	52.8%
148	OAK	1965	Clem Daniels	34%	Art Powell	18.8%	4266	52.8%
149	PIT	1992	Barry Foster	39.1%	Jeff Graham	13.7%	5202	52.8%
150	SEA	2004	Shaun Alexander	32.1%	Darrell Jackson	20.6%	5810	52.8%
151	GNB	1997	Dorsey Levens	31.1%	Antonio Freeman	21.7%	5805	52.7%
152	KAN	2001	Priest Holmes	36.9%	Tony Gonzalez	15.8%	5871	52.7%
153	NYG	1972	Ron Johnson	35.8%	Bob Tucker	16.9%	4559	52.7%
154	NYJ	2002	Curtis Martin	27.8%	Laveranues Coles	24.9%	5237	52.7%
155	WAS	1966	Charley Taylor	30%	Bobby Mitchell	22.7%	4607	52.7%
156	NYG	2003	Tiki Barber	32.2%	Amani Toomer	20.4%	5201	52.7%
157	DET	1998	Barry Sanders	33.3%	Johnnie Morton	19.4%	5353	52.7%
158	BAL	2009	Ray Rice	35%	Derrick Mason	17.6%	5837	52.6%
159	PHI	1968	Tom Woodeshick	33.8%	Ben Hawkins	18.8%	3768	52.6%
160	SEA	2000	Ricky Watters	37.7%	Sean Dawkins	14.9%	4918	52.6%
161	BAL	2011	Ray Rice	36.8%	Anquan Boldin	15.8%	5625	52.5%
162	TAM	1999	Warrick Dunn	26.4%	Mike Alstott	26.1%	4557	52.5%
163	HOU	2012	Arian Foster	26.6%	Andre Johnson	25.9%	6169	52.5%
164	DEN	1971	Floyd Little	32%	Bobby Anderson	20.4%	4336	52.4%
165	SFO	2000	Charlie Garner	28.9%	Terrell Owens	23.6%	6201	52.4%
166	SEA	1983	Curt Warner	32.6%	Steve Largent	19.8%	5435	52.4%
167	ATL	1984	Gerald Riggs	31.8%	Stacey Bailey	20.5%	5540	52.4%
168	RAM	1993	Jerome Bettis	33.2%	Henry Ellard	19.1%	5035	52.4%
169	RAI	1984	Marcus Allen	34.4%	Todd Christensen	18%	5604	52.3%
170	DEN	1973	Floyd Little	30.1%	Joe Dawkins	22.2%	4660	52.3%
171	STL	1979	Ottis Anderson	35.1%	Pat Tilley	17.2%	5452	52.3%
172	HOU	2003	Domanick Williams	30.8%	Andre Johnson	21.5%	4492	52.3%
173	SFO	1995	Jerry Rice	30.1%	Derek Loville	22.1%	6258	52.2%
174	STL	2000	Marshall Faulk	29.8%	Torry Holt	22.4%	7335	52.2%
175	SEA	1992	Chris Warren	29.4%	John Williams	22.8%	3919	52.2%
176	BAL	1977	Lydell Mitchell	37%	Don McCauley	15.2%	4809	52.2%
177	MIN	1964	Bill Brown	32.7%	Tommy Mason	19.4%	4797	52.1%
178	NYG	1936	Tuffy Leemans	31.3%	Kink Richards	20.8%	2724	52.1%
179	NYY	1947	Spec Sanders	30.6%	Buddy Young	21.5%	4725	52.1%
180	GNB	1978	Terdell Middleton	33.1%	James Lofton	19%	4381	52%
181	CRD	1934	Doug Russell	27.8%	Mike Mikulak	24.2%	1469	52%
182	PHI	1996	Ricky Watters	31.6%	Irving Fryar	20.3%	5861	52%
183	SDG	1965	Lance Alworth	29.1%	Paul Lowe	22.8%	5464	51.9%
184	JAX	1998	Fred Taylor	30.2%	Jimmy Smith	21.7%	5445	51.9%
185	BAL	1976	Lydell Mitchell	31.8%	Roger Carr	20.1%	5524	51.9%
186	PHI	1965	Timmy Brown	29.3%	Pete Retzlaff	22.6%	5266	51.9%
187	GNB	1960	Jim Taylor	29.5%	Paul Hornung	22.4%	4143	51.9%
188	TEN	2000	Eddie George	35.6%	Derrick Mason	16.2%	5514	51.8%
189	CHI	2005	Thomas Jones	34.4%	Muhsin Muhammad	17.4%	4300	51.8%
190	NYG	2000	Tiki Barber	30.7%	Amani Toomer	21.1%	5619	51.8%
191	ARI	2000	Michael Pittman	27.3%	David Boston	24.5%	4756	51.8%
192	PIT	2016	Le'Veon Bell	30.7%	Antonio Brown	21.1%	6137	51.8%
193	SFO	1959	J.D. Smith	33.2%	Joe Perry	18.6%	3524	51.8%
194	MIN	2008	Adrian Peterson	33.9%	Bernard Berrian	17.8%	5555	51.8%
195	GNB	2001	Ahman Green	35.3%	Bill Schroeder	16.5%	5614	51.7%
196	BKN	1942	Merl Condit	34.8%	Pug Manders	16.9%	2179	51.7%
197	CAR	2003	Stephen Davis	30.1%	Steve Smith	21.6%	5329	51.7%
198	DET	1991	Barry Sanders	37.8%	Brett Perriman	13.8%	4904	51.7%
199	DTX	1960	Abner Haynes	29.7%	Johnny Robinson	21.9%	4879	51.6%
200	BAL	1958	Lenny Moore	32.9%	Alan Ameche	18.7%	4664	51.6%

The last team to have two players account for 60% of their yards was the 2005 Giants.

What stands out to you?

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