Thurman Thomas Hall of Fame Feature

Thurman Thomas slipped to the second round of the 1988 National Football League Draft due to concern about a knee injury he had suffered during his senior year at Oklahoma State. The Buffalo Bills, who had no first round pick that year, selected Thomas, an All-America running back, in the second round with the 40th overall pick.

In 1989, after an impressive rookie season that included a division title for the Bills, the multi-dimensional Thomas rushed for 1,000 yards, caught 60 passes, and scored 12 touchdowns in his second season.

His ability to catch the ball as well as run with it was a key ingredient to the Bills' "No Huddle" offensive attack. The team improved to 13-3 in 1990 as Thomas led the NFL in all-purpose yards. He rushed for 1,297 yards and scored 11 touchdowns while catching 49 passes for 532 yards and two touchdowns. With the versatile back leading the way, the Bills marched through the playoffs to the first of their unprecedented four straight Super Bowl berths.

Thomas rushed for 100 yards in each of the playoff games that post-season including Super Bowl XXV when he gained 135 yards on just 15 carries and scored on a 31-yard run early in the fourth quarter. He also had 5 receptions for 55 yards.

In 1991, Thomas amassed more than 2,000 all-purpose yards, just the 11th player ever to do so. His league-leading yardage output included 1,407 yards on the ground and an additional 631 yards on a career-high 62 receptions. He scored 12 touchdowns. He reached the 2,000-yard total again the following season which marked a record fourth straight season of leading the NFL in yards from scrimmage.

Named to the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1990s, Thomas was selected first- or second-team All-Pro and All-AFC five times, and was voted to the Pro Bowl five straight years. Thomas retired as the NFL's ninth ranked rusher with 12,074 yards and added another 4,458 yards on 472 catches. He scored 65 rushing and 23 receiving touchdowns in his 13-season career.

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[bluekarma4]

One of my favorite RB of all time regardless of the SB losses.

[mylest100]

@slickrickdarula dont forget sb 26 when he rushed for 8 yards

[MichRockHop81108]

@slickrickdarula hahaha. they were ahead 13-6 in the last super bowl he played in and they were doing well. then thurman butt boy thomas fumbled leading to a dallas touchdown on the same play AND he went into one of the most obvious shut downs Ive ever seen. burying his face in his hands as the cowboys just kept scoring after that. My favorite part was when they started playing I wanna hold your hand on the loudspeakers after showing the bills bench on the screen. sad story haha

[MichRockHop81108]

I remember Thurman "fumble in the super bowl then leads to 7 dallas points immediately" Thomas! It's a damn shame the Bills couldn't snap out of their own gayness enough to get a championship. I really wonder what it's like to get so close to what you've sacrificed everything else in your life for and not come out of it with a victory FOUR TIMES IN A ROW. Thurman Thomas is an example of why sports championships are the greatest thing created by mankind. Thurman Thomas is NOT the best back in NFL

[SmithStogieBoys]

Hey guys! Check out our video this week featuring Thurman Thomas! Join the Stogieboys FREE NFL pool--free to enter, free to play--and you could win weekly prizes!

youtube[dot]com/watch?v=6HnnLr­8IyS4

[BreuckelensFinest]

Hands Down Thurman is the most underrated RB of all time!

[cjkdeck]

@HaIIoweenKingDiamond and buffalos wasnt? kent hull house ballard jim richter will wolford just to name afew.....most of em were pro bowlers!...still i like squirmin thurman over emmit!

[jonmarc1980]

Boy I Love Losing Superbowls

[MrRyguy92]

Thurman Thomas did everything he could run and catch he ran good routes too for a rb just a complete well rounded player has over 10,000 career yards what a beast

[datoldschoolraplova]

all the running backs back in the day were greater.they had way more balance nd elusiveness they werent afraid to make plays.BARRY SANDERS WAS THE GREATEST THO.but they were all great the running backs but today arent a gifted as they were back then

[Bleechball]

I'm not big on debating who was better or who had the better players around him, I think both Emmitt and Thurman fit perfectly for their teams. The 90s had some awesome runningbacks.

Personally I'd take Barry but I'm a Lions fan so obviously some bias there.

[zigomanis18]

@atlballer81 It was? two losses to the cowboys by a total of 52 points? Team of the 90's? Ahh no! Great team but no super bowl wins...sorry.