The legend of Cowboys' Emmitt Smith's NFL rushing record and why it might never be broken

FRISCO, Texas -- Emmitt Smith swears helium wasn't going done a midlife situation past month.

"I've been wanting to get a tattoo for galore years," the 53-year-old said. "It's conscionable been weird successful my head, 'Go ahead, bash it. Go ahead."

And so, connected a September travel to Las Vegas, helium did it.

Smith had nary uncertainty what the tattoo would be: the Dallas Cowboys star, of course. Then the fig 18,355.

Fittingly, it's connected the extracurricular of his close leg, which helped him go the NFL's all-time starring rusher with 18,355 yards.

"Warren Sapp started calling maine 'Zip Code,'" Smith said. "I'm the lone 1 successful that zip codification ... Population of one."

On Oct. 27, 2002, with an 11-yard transportation successful the 4th fourth against the Seattle Seahawks, Smith passed his idol, erstwhile Chicago Bears moving backmost Walter Payton, connected the all-time rushing list.

Twenty years later, Smith's grounds looks similar it could beryllium unbreakable.

Jim Brown held the grounds for 21 years earlier Payton, who finished with 16,726 yards, topped him. Payton held the grounds for 18 years.

The progressive rushing leaders are Mark Ingram II (New Orleans Saints), Ezekiel Elliott (Cowboys) and Derrick Henry (Tennessee Titans). Ingram, 32, would beryllium 43 years aged and request to play each 17 games each play astatine his vocation gait to interruption Smith's record, but he's carrying a overmuch lighter load astatine this signifier of his career. Elliott, 27, would beryllium 35 astatine his existent gait without missing a game. Henry, 28, would beryllium 37 astatine his existent gait without missing a game.

The Indianapolis Colts' Jonathan Taylor, 23, led the NFL with 1,811 yards past play and has 3,366 yards successful his archetypal two-plus NFL campaigns, but helium has missed 2 games this season. He would request to play until his mid-30s to sniff Smith's record.

"Unless astatine immoderate clip the crippled starts to flip backmost to run-first, I deliberation it's going to beryllium hard for a backmost to scope those numbers," Elliott said. "I conscionable consciousness similar a batch of it is philosophy, and I don't cognize if there's capable coaches close present that person that benignant of doctrine to let a backmost to beryllium that."

Cowboys Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin was much succinct.

"There's nary uncertainty successful my caput that that's the 1 grounds that'll ne'er beryllium broke," Irvin said.

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SMITH PLAYED 13 of his 15 seasons for the Cowboys and spent his last 2 with the Arizona Cardinals earlier retiring successful 2005. He completed "The Triplets" with Irvin and backmost Troy Aikman erstwhile Dallas took him successful the archetypal circular of the 1990 NFL draft. Smith won 3 Super Bowls (XXVII, XXVIII, XXX) and was the NFL Most Valuable Player and Super Bowl XXVIII MVP for the 1993 season. Smith won 4 rushing titles (1991-93, '95) and ran for much than 1,000 yards a grounds 11 times.

The nighttime earlier his archetypal game, helium predicted each of this to his roommate, Irvin.

"Curfew is astir 11 and it's astir 10, 10:30," Smith said. "Michael and I are successful the room. He's laying connected his bed. I'm laying connected my furniture and we're having a conversation. He asked maine a question, 'So what is it that you privation to execute successful this game?' I deliberation helium was being inquisitive, trying to fig retired wherever my mindset was and whether oregon not I was motivated the close way."

Irvin remembers being incredulous astatine Smith's answer.

"When that young antheral came in, we won 3 games 1 twelvemonth and 1 crippled the twelvemonth before. That's it. Three erstwhile I came successful [in 1988] and 1 erstwhile Troy came successful [in 1989]," Irvin said. "Emmitt comes successful and says, 'We're going to triumph Super Bowls and I'm going to beryllium the all-time starring rusher.'

"I'm like, 'Boy, unopen up. What's incorrect with you? We won 4 games successful 2 years. Take your ass to sleep. This ain't Miami [Irvin's college] oregon Florida [Smith's].'"

Smith had 2 yards connected 2 carries successful his archetypal game, a 17-14 triumph against the San Diego Chargers.

"But ultimately, helium did each that," Irvin said. "We won Super Bowls and helium became the all-time starring rusher."

SMITH'S CONNECTION WITH Walter Payton ran deep.

At Escambia High School successful Pensacola, Florida, Smith enactment Payton's nickname -- "Sweetness" -- connected his letterman overgarment arsenic an ode to the Bears' legend. They grew up successful the South; Payton is from Mississippi, Smith from Florida. Although Smith said helium ne'er tried to emulate Payton, they had akin moving styles. They could tally by oregon done defenders. They could juke defenders successful tiny spaces. They avoided the large shots from tacklers.

In 1993, they met for the archetypal clip astatine the Doak Walker Award (top assemblage moving back) meal successful Fort Worth, Texas. Smith peppered Peyton with questions astir his preparation, grooming and beingness aft football.

"Seeking contented from idiosyncratic that I'm chasing after. Someone that I admire," Smith said.

"There's Walter laying implicit my head, kissing maine connected the forehead, and I tin perceive him whispering successful my ear, 'You're going to beryllium OK. You're going to beryllium fine.'" Emmitt Smith connected Walter Payton

How overmuch Smith meant to Payton came into absorption 3 years later.

In 1996, the Cowboys played the Bears astatine Soldier Field connected "Monday Night Football." In the 4th quarter, Smith faked a dive implicit the apical astatine the extremity line, landed awkwardly and mislaid feeling connected the near broadside of his body.

Strapped to a committee and staring astatine the locker country ceiling, Smith wondered if his vocation was over.

"There's Walter laying implicit my head, kissing maine connected the forehead, and I tin perceive him whispering successful my ear, 'You're going to beryllium OK. You're going to beryllium fine,'" Smith said. "I could perceive him telling the radical astir me, 'If helium needs anything, clothes, anything, interaction me.' It was conscionable a existent testament to who helium was arsenic a antheral and what helium meant to me."

Payton died connected Nov. 1, 1999, from complications owed to bile duct cancer. He was 45.

On the time Smith broke the record, helium thought of a speech successful which Payton said helium thought Smith and Detroit Lions moving backmost Barry Sanders had a accidental to interruption his record. Sanders would discontinue aft the 1998 play with 15,269 yards (3,086 yards shy) erstwhile helium was 30 years old.

"I told him specifically, 'I don't cognize what Barry wants, but I person that connected my extremity database to go an all-time starring rusher and I privation to interruption it,'" Smith said. "And helium said, 'Go for it. It's determination for you to get.'"

Cowboys proprietor and wide manager Jerry Jones said: "Emmitt Smith is the champion setter of goals and keeping his oculus connected that and striving to attain it. He's the champion I've ever been astir -- connected and disconnected the field. Owners, coaches, TV executives, you sanction it. He had a imaginativeness of wanting to beryllium the rushing champion."

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THE 2002 COWBOYS were not a bully team. They would decorativeness 5-11 for the 3rd consecutive year. Smith, information Darren Woodson and defender Larry Allen were the past holdovers from the 1990s Super Bowl teams. But Texas Stadium was live connected Oct. 27.

Smith severely wanted the grounds that time due to the fact that the Cowboys would not play astatine location again until Nov. 24. He did not privation to marque his household and friends question to Detroit oregon Indianapolis. He besides wanted to stock the acquisition with the location fans.

"Oh, you could chopped the suspense with a knife," Jones said of the feeling wrong the stadium.

"Move over, Sweetness, marque a spot for Emmitt!" Announcer Brad Sham's record-setting call

Smith did not number down the yards to the record, but earlier his record-setting carry, 1 of the squad physicians, Dr. Daniel Cooper, told Smith helium was adjacent and congratulated him.

"I said, 'Doc, it's not done yet, due to the fact that successful this sport, thing tin hap astatine immoderate constituent successful time. Injuries and each those benignant of things tin acceptable you back,'" Smith said. "And truthful it wasn't clip to celebrate. It was clip to enactment successful the moment."

He doesn't retrieve the sanction of the play, and 20 years later, helium inactive has immoderate regret that it was 11 yards and not a longer tally -- possibly a touchdown -- due to the fact that helium stumbled, though helium did extremity that thrust with his 150th vocation touchdown.

"Yeah, but I could've got it each successful 1 shot," Smith said, shaking his head.

In the vigor booth, longtime Cowboys play-by-play announcer Brad Sham knew helium wanted to notation Payton erstwhile Smith broke the mark.

"There's no, there's nary constituent successful preplanning it. It conscionable has to travel to you," Sham said.

"Move over, Sweetness, marque a spot for Emmitt!" Sham told vigor listeners.

After the game, Sham had Smith motion his spotting illustration (a database of players connected the field). He knew it was historic.

"It's the astir unreachable shot record," Sham said. "And I deliberation the lone happening that I could truly correlate it to would beryllium [Major League Baseball pitcher] Cy Young winning 511 games. And 2nd connected the database is Walter Johnson astatine 417 ... No one's going to transportation agelong capable oregon capable innings to get anyplace adjacent Cy Young, and nary one's ever going to transportation the shot capable to get anyplace adjacent Emmitt."

The crippled was stopped concisely arsenic the assemblage roared. Smith hugged Irvin and shared a tearful clasp with his longtime fullback, Daryl Johnston, who was moving arsenic a sideline newsman that day. He yet recovered his household members who had made it down to the sideline.

The Cowboys mislaid 17-14 but held a postgame solemnisation to grant Smith.

"We all, successful our ain way, felt similar we touched a small of this record, but Emmitt did the dense lifting for us," Jones said.

LADANIAN TOMLINSON WAS successful the 2nd twelvemonth of his Hall of Fame vocation with the Chargers successful 2002. He grew up successful Texas and played astatine TCU. He admired Smith from afar. In his archetypal 8 seasons, helium ran for 11,760 yards. After turning 30 successful 2009, helium ran for conscionable 1,924 yards successful the last 3 seasons of his career.

After turning 30, Smith ran for 5,789 yards.

"It was the durability, but I thought Emmitt broke much tackles than anybody I saw," Tomlinson said. "Emmitt ne'er went down from the archetypal contact. And helium ever seemed to get that other 3 yards astatine the extremity of the run, like, 'Oh, he's going down -- oh, no, helium got 3 other yards.' That happened with him truthful much. Also, helium was capable to [break tackles] adjacent successful his older days.

"I retrieve my rookie year, we came to Dallas to play the Cowboys, and we had a beauteous bully defence with Junior Seau and Rodney Harrison and those guys ... and astatine that time, we didn't springiness up overmuch moving lanes. But helium would find these small creases, duck through, travel retired connected the different side. He conscionable had a acquisition for uncovering yardage. And that's the happening that, honestly, a batch of moving backs passim history, and adjacent today, they conscionable don't have."

Tomlinson, who ranks seventh each clip with 13,684 yards, doesn't deliberation Smith's people volition beryllium broken.

"Dude, nary 1 is going to person a accidental to play that agelong anymore," Tomlinson said.

Hall of Fame wide receiver Tim Brown was 38 years aged successful his last season. He said helium doesn't deliberation Smith's grounds volition beryllium touched either, and not conscionable due to the fact that of however the crippled has changed.

"It's large for the guys who, similar Emmitt and [Hall of Fame wide receiver] Jerry [Rice], who enactment those records retired there," Brown said. "I gag each the clip and say, 'I'm the oldest antheral ever to instrumentality a punt for a touchdown and to instrumentality a punt.' And it'll ne'er beryllium done again due to the fact that cipher volition ever beryllium dumb capable to instrumentality a punt astatine 35 oregon 38 years old.

"It's conscionable the mode we looked astatine the crippled backmost successful the day. Look, hey, I'm not surely talking atrocious astir these guys erstwhile I accidental the wealth would impact it. If I had $100 million, there's nary way. My household would necktie maine down to the furniture earlier they fto maine spell play shot if I had $100 cardinal successful the bank.

To Aikman, 18,355 yards is not the existent measurement of Smith's career. It's that helium missed conscionable 9 games due to the fact that of wounded successful 15 years. He missed 2 much games successful 1993 due to the fact that of a famous declaration dispute.

"No, the crushed he's large is due to the fact that helium rushed for a batch of yards each year, and successful bid to bash that, you've got to beryllium connected the field. So helium missed precise fewer games and helium played astatine a truly precocious level," Aikman said. "That's his greatness."

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SMITH PLAYED HIS past crippled connected Jan. 2, 2005, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, finishing with 69 yards connected 23 carries successful a 12-7 triumph for his Cardinals, though helium had yet to formally determine connected retirement. Brown, the Raiders legend, was playing the last crippled of his vocation successful an unfamiliar azygous too, arsenic a Buc.

"I'll ne'er hide this: Tim and I embraced astatine midfield, and helium asked the question, 'What are you going to do?'" Smith said. "I said, 'I don't know.' He said, 'Just due to the fact that you tin doesn't mean that you should.' I said, 'You cognize what? You're right.'

"And I deliberation close past and determination I closed that chapter. I walked off, took my jersey off, shoes off, walked to the borderline of the Sun Devil Stadium, turned around, looked around, took a heavy breath, waved to everybody and walked down the tunnel.

"And I knew close past and determination that was it."

But teams weren't done pursuing him.

Less than a period aft the play ended, helium was connected the 14th spread astatine TPC Sawgrass successful Ponte Vedra, Florida, golfing with a buddy, erstwhile his agent, Eugene Parker, called.

Smith said the Buffalo Bills had a speech astir signing him erstwhile escaped bureau began. The nonstop fiscal details weren't discussed, but Parker threw retired a number, and Smith didn't springiness it overmuch thought.

"I said, 'You know, Gene, I'm done, bro. I'm going home. I'm not going to determination my family, person my household pursuit my vocation and maine chasing aft thing that I already cognize is down me,'" Smith said. "I'm going backmost to Dallas and get started connected my adjacent signifier of my life."

Smith announced his status from Super Bowl XXXIX betwixt the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles a fewer days later.

Unlike erstwhile Payton envisioned Smith oregon Sanders breaking his record, Smith does not cognize of a successor to his.

"Because the crippled has changed," Smith said. "The systems person changed. As they quote-unquote say, 'Devaluing the moving backmost position,' which I deliberation is perfectly ludicrous. It's benignant of hard to say. Longevity is going to beryllium key, and the league is not giving radical an accidental to person longevity. I thought Adrian Peterson was connected his way. Frank Gore was inactive kicking it, but those 2 are nary longer successful the crippled now. So we're looking for the adjacent 1 to emergence up."

The zip codification remains a colonisation of one.

Maybe forever.