Chris Johnson to Take on Rams With a Record to Break

Dec 7, 2009—This coming Sunday, the St. Louis Rams will defend one of their own. They won't be defending anyone on their current team, of course, the Ram's pathetic season is certainly lost—but they will be defending the honor of a fellow Ram, the famous Eric Dickerson of the 1984 L.A. Rams.

What is threatened, is Mr. Dickerson's season rushing record of 2,105 yards, now being challenged by Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans , the team St. Louis will face this week.

Chris Johnson has compiled 1,509 rushing yards thus far this season, and must rush for roughly 150 yards per game over the last four games of the season to break Dickerson's record.

This would certainly be a herculean feat, but not one that is insurmountable. In fact, Johnson has a great chance to take a large chunk out of those 600 yards this week, possibly making this the defining match-up in Johnson's season.

This should be a great game for Johnson for several reasons.

First, St. Louis is coming into this game ranked 28th in rushing defense. The only other team the Titans have faced all year that is weaker against the run is the Bills , ranked 32nd.

In other words, a demoralized St. Louis team with a poor rush defense could mean a field day for Johnson. Also, Johnson has plenty of motivation going into this game. The Titans are not yet eliminated from the playoff race, and it is clear that Johnson is aware that he is threatening the season rushing record. The cards, for this game at least, are stacked in Johnson's favor.

The other teams remaining on the Titan's schedule have better rush defenses than the Rams, with Miami , San Diego, and Seattle ranked 14th, 21st and 13th respectively. Rushing for 150 yards on any of those teams would be difficult, even for Johnson. Therefore, Johnson has to make a grand statement against St. Louis or run the risk of losing the chase.

What then, must Johnson do against the Rams? He must repeat his season-high at Jacksonville , where he rushed for 228 yards. This would put Johnson in a situation in which he only would have to run for 125 ypg in his final three games. He is currently averaging 125.75 ypg, so this is a doable feat.

But now, it comes down to the Rams, in a historical game that could have grand implications for both franchises. Tennessee has almost every advantage going in. Lovers of NFL football will see on Sunday if St. Louis can still defend their honor when they've already lost their season.