10 fascinating achievements from Washington Commanders franchise history

Commanders most intriguing season

• John Riggins – 1983

Seeing as John Riggins was among the most interesting players ever to suit up for the Washington Commanders franchise, it’s not surprising he had the most intriguing season. But he did have to beat out teammate Mark Mosely – the only pure kicker to win the league’s NFL MVP just one year earlier.

Still, what Riggins accomplished – rushing for 24 touchdowns – needs no explanation.

But maybe a little context will help. The Diesel smashed the previous NFL record for rushing scores set by Earl Campbell in 1979. He had tallied 19.

Riggo’s 24 would stand as the league record for another decade before Emmitt Smith inched ahead with 25. The record has been broken three more times and now stands at 28 with LaDainian Tomlinson.

But consider this caveat. Riggins was 34 years old when he set his record.

All of the runners who have since surpassed him were under 30 years old. In fact, Riggins is the only back older than 30 in the top 30 on the single-season rushing touchdown list.

No back over 30 – aside from Riggo – has run for more than 16 touchdowns in a season. Only two backs in the history of the NFL have run for more than 10 scores when they were older than Riggins in 1983.

One was Marcus Allen, who managed 11 touchdowns when he was 37. The other was – care to guess? John Riggins, one year later, when he ran for 14 touchdowns at the age of 35.

Considering the current running back trend, nobody over 30 years old is likely to attain a similar feat anytime soon.