When was the last time you remember a Miami Dolphin completely captivating the rest of the NFL on offense? Some may point to the 2008 Miami Dolphins with running back Ronnie Brown bounced back from a season ending injury in the prior season to serve as the triggerman of the Wildcat offense. But while that answer may not technically be wrong, Brown wasn’t a dominant performer on the field that season — he was rather the beneficiary of a unique, off the wall antique offense.
To find the Dolphins’ last truly dominant offensive weapon you have to rewind all the way back to 2002 — Ricky Williams’ first season with the Miami Dolphins.
Miami gave a king’s ransom for Williams in a trade with the New Orleans Saints; but that deal seemed to be well on the way to being worth it after Williams ripped through the rest of the NFL with 1,853 rushing yards — a mark that was at the time the 8th highest single season rushing mark in NFL history. Williams and the Dolphins finished that season 9-7 and missed the playoffs due to a four-way tie for the league’s final Wild Card berth, losing in Week 17 in overtime against the New England Patriots.
But never the less, Williams’ rushing title proved he was a true force of nature — but don’t take our word for it. Enjoy these 2002 Ricky Williams rushing highlights for yourself and try to tell us Ricky wasn’t one hell of a scary sight in the open field.
In his first season with the @MiamiDolphins, Ricky Williams ran for 1,853 yards to capture the @NFL’s rushing title in 2002.
Happy 43rd birthday, @Rickthelaureate! 🐬 pic.twitter.com/PqSgqu0TcC
— NFL Throwback (@nflthrowback) May 21, 2020
Williams recently turned 43 years old and is enjoying his second retirement much more than the first attempt at hanging up the cleats. Williams famously called it a career in the eleventh hour ahead of the 2004 season as a 27-year old in the prime of his career before returning after one season and eventually surpassing 10,000 career rushing yards and redeeming himself in the eyes of Dolphins fans everywhere.
And, for now, his 2002 performance remains the most dominant single season by an offensive weapon in South Florida on this side of the Dan Marino retirement.