I’m not sure what to make of J.K. Dobbins. On the one hand, he’s splitting time with Gus Edwards. On the other, Dobbins keeps busting loose for long runs.
Edwards has actually had 1 more carry in each of the first two games. I expect if the balls winds up on the 1-yard line, it’s more likely to be Edwards rather than Dobbins who punches it in. And neither has been effective yet in the passing game, with their 5 catches generating a total of 6 yards.
But Dobbins has had long runs in both games, while Edwards doesn’t have the juice to make those kind of plays.
With those long runs, Dobbins went for 135 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 against the Raiders, and he followed it up with 131 yards and a touchdown at Carolina.
In the Super Bowl era, only four other players have run for at least 130 yards in both of their teams’ first two games. O.J. Simpson (1975), Billy Sims (1980), Garrison Hearst (1998) and Warrick Dunn (2006). Simpson and Sims finished as the No. 1 running backs in those seasons (using PPR scoring). Hearst ranked 5th, while Dunn was the 25th-best back in 2006.
Pretty remarkable comeback for a guy whose career thus far has been derailed by injuries.
| 130-PLUS RUSHING YARDS IN FIRST TWO GAMES | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Opp | Result | Att | Yards | Avg | TD |
| 1975 | O.J. Simpson, Buff. | NYJ | W 42-14 | 32 | 173 | 5.4 | 2 |
| 1975 | O.J. Simpson, Buff. | at Pitt. | W 30-21 | 28 | 227 | 8.1 | 1 |
| 1980 | Billy Sims, Det. | at LAR | W 41-20 | 22 | 153 | 7.0 | 3 |
| 1980 | Billy Sims, Det. | at G.B. | W 29-7 | 20 | 134 | 6.7 | 1 |
| 1998 | Garrison Hearst, S.F. | NYJ | W 36-30 | 20 | 187 | 9.4 | 2 |
| 1998 | Garrison Hearst, S.F. | at Was. | W 45-10 | 22 | 138 | 6.3 | 1 |
| 2006 | Warrick Dunn, Atl. | at Car. | W 20-6 | 29 | 132 | 4.6 | 0 |
| 2006 | Warrick Dunn, Atl. | T.B. | W 14-3 | 21 | 134 | 6.4 | 0 |
| 2024 | J.K. Dobbins, LAC | L.V. | W 22-10 | 10 | 135 | 13.5 | 1 |
| 2024 | J.K. Dobbins, LAC | at Car. | W 26-3 | 17 | 131 | 7.7 | 1 |
—Ian Allan