The Baltimore Ravens have had many star running backs in their history, Ray Rice was great before his unfortunate incident which lead to his exit from the NFL, Derrick Henry is now a Baltimore Raven, a historic great Running Back who’s got stuff left in the tank to help MVP QB Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.
Jamal Lewis is also another, who played for the Baltimore Ravens from 2000 to 2006, but he is most remembered for his 2003 season in Baltimore.
It was also the season he earned his way into the highly rarified air of the 2000-yard season club.
Ultimately, his 2,066 total rushing yards fell just 40 yards shy of the all-time single-season record set by Eric Dickerson in 1984.
Jamal Lewis recently was on the Ravens Twitter series called “Untold Stories” and talked about how he missed out on Dickerson’s record and what the specific moment was that he thought was why he failed to Tie or Break the Record.
“I think I ended up coming out the late third quarter, early fourth quarter, something like that,” Lewis told the Ravens.
“I would have gotten the 60-plus yards that I would have needed to break the season record—I can tell you that.”
Lewis got asked if, looking back on it now, he wishes he had stayed in for another series or two.
“Looking back, I wish I could have, but coach (Brian) Billick, he had a good point,” Lewis answered.
“We were going into the playoffs; I needed to be healthy. I didn’t want to risk my health or injury, being selfish.”
With the Browns bruised and beaten, week 16 was the opportunity that got away. The following week, the Ravens welcomed in their most hated rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
However, Lewis couldn’t get going enough to surpass 2,105. Despite the game going into overtime, which provided extra chances at the record, he fell short.
