Past 10 Offensive Players of the Year

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Jan 6, 2009

Past 10 Offensive Players of the Year

Marshall Faulk (St. Louis)

In his first year in St. Louis, Faulk teamed with Kurt Warner as part of the "Greatest Show on Turf." He scored 12 touchdowns and notched an NFL-record 2,429 yards from scrimmage. With 1,381 yards rushing and 1,048 receiving yards, Faulk joined Roger Craig as the only men to total 1,000 yards in each category in the same season.

Marshall Faulk (St. Louis)

In addition to becoming the first running back to lead his team in receptions five seasons, Faulk had 1,359 yards rushing in 14 games and set a new NFL record with 26 touchdowns, earning an NFL MVP as well as the offensive player of the year award.

Marshall Faulk (St. Louis)

Despite missing two games with injuries, Faulk rushed 260 times for a career-high 1,382 yards (5.3 yards per carry), and caught 83 passes for 765 yards, for an NFC-leading total of 2,147 yards from scrimmage. He added 21 touchdowns, and finished second to teammate Kurt Warner in MVP voting.

Priest Holmes (Kansas City)

Although he missed the final two games of the season with a hip injury, Holmes rushed for 1,615 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2002. He also caught 70 passes for 672 yards and three scores.

Jamal Lewis (Baltimore)

Lewis fell 39 yards short of Eric Dickerson and the NFL's all-time single-season rushing record in 2003, finishing with 2,066 yards. That made him one of just five running backs in league history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. He scored 14 touchdowns for the Ravens.

Peyton Manning (Indianapolis)

In racking up 4,557 passing yards and a league record 49 touchdowns (since broken by Tom Brady), Manning helped three receivers notch at least 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2004. Manning also set the all-time record for passer rating (121.1) in leading the Colts to a 12-4 record.

Shaun Alexander (Seattle)

Alexander led the NFL in rushing yards (1,880), rushing touchdowns (27), Pro Bowl votes and points. He also became the first running back in NFL history to record 15 or more touchdowns in five consecutive seasons. He had two four-touchdown games and set the single-season record for overall touchdowns with 28.

LaDainian Tomlinson (San Diego)

Touchdown records continued to fall in 2006 when LaDainian Tomlinson reached the end zone one more time than Shaun Alexander had the year before, notching 28 rushing touchdowns. Not only did LT rush for 1,815 yards, but also he caught 56 passes for 508 yards and three touchdowns for the 14-2 Chargers.

Tom Brady (New England)

With a dramatically overhauled receiving corps that included Randy Moss and Wes Welker, Brady enjoyed what many have called the best season ever by a quarterback. He led the Patriots to a 16-0 record and finished the season 398-for-578 for 4,806 yards, 50 touchdowns (the most all-time) and a 117.2 passer rating.

Drew Brees (New Orleans)

Brees chased down Dan Marino all season, coming within 16 yards of the Hall of Famer's single-season passing record. The Saints' quarterback finished the year with 5,069 passing yards, 34 touchdowns and a 96.2 passer rating.