Steven Jackson’s First Postseason TD: A Reminder of What Could’ve Been

It’s 1st and Goal at the one-yard line for the Patriots on a brisk, late-January Colorado afternoon. Everyone has been talking about how this 2016 postseason matchup between the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos could be the last “Brady vs. Manning” ever. No one was talking about how this was RB Steven Jackson‘s first Postseason Conference Game in 164 games as a professional athlete.

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Down by a touchdown, QB Tom Brady takes the ball under center with over a minute left in the first quarter. He hands it off to no. 39 in the backfield, who attempts to run through a hole created by his right tackle and tight ends. Even though the Aqib Talib and the stout Denver defense tries to stop the 6’2″, 240 pound man from pounding it into the endzone, Steven Jackson uses his size and power to score his first career postseason touchdown.

Yes, the man who ran for eight consecutive 1,000+ yard seasons scored his first postseason touchdown ever. In all those years as the unsung workhorse running back for the St. Louis Rams (now Los Angeles Rams) and the Atlanta Falcons, Steven Jackson had only participated in regular season games. The Rams and Falcons failed him. At 32 years old, the Patriots gave him another chance to contend for a Super Bowl; a chance that only Steven Jackson deserves.

Over a decade ago, Steven Jackson of the Oregon State Beavers was a top running back prospects declaring for the 2004 NFL Draft. His rare combination of size and speed intrigued scouts, but several teams avoided the big, bruising ball-carrier due to a knee injury that prevented him from participating in the NFL Combine.

"“I never felt right [playing on my knee]. Now [my knee] does [feel right].”-RB Steven Jackson"

As the first round was nearing its end, the St. Louis Rams decided to trade up to the Cincinnati Bengals’ 24th overall pick in order to select Steven Jackson as the apparent heir to the great Marshall Faulk.

After a year of playing behind Faulk in 2004 (recording 673 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns), Jackson burst onto the scene as one of the most talented young running backs by rushing for 1,046 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns while catching 43 passes for 320 yards and 2 touchdowns in 2005.

Steven Jackson only got better in his third NFL season. He had one vote for offensive player of the year in 2006 after leading the league in total yards from scrimmage (1,528 rushing yards and 806 receiving yards) and scoring 16 total touchdowns.

However, with only one year left on Steven Jackson’s rookie contract, the St. Louis Rams only won three games in 2007 despite another 1,000+ yard season posted by Jackson. Steven Jackson decided to hold-out of the 2008 training camp in hopes of attaining a multi-year contract extension. Because of his importance to the dismal St. Louis Rams, the team inked Jackson to a $49.3 million six-year extension, making him the highest paid running back in the NFL at the time.

Despite retaining their star running back, the Rams continued to be one of the worst teams in the NFL for the next two years (2-14 in 2008, 1-15 in 2009). At the same time, Jackson continued to rush for over 1,000 yards in those two seasons, improving his 1,000+ yard season streak to four years (1,042 yards in 2008, 1,416 yards in 2009).

Then in 2010, the Rams gave Steven Jackson a chance to reach his first postseason ever with the selection of the highly touted Sam Bradford out of Oklahoma. A combination of Bradford, Danny Amendola, and Steven Jackson created a potent offense that almost made the playoffs with a record of 7-9 (Yes, the NFC West was that terrible). It never got better, however, as Bradford’s nagging injuries kept the Rams out of playoff contention for Steven Jackson’s last two years in the horns.

Even though Steven Jackson managed to produce eight consecutive 1,000+ yard seasons with the St. Louis Rams, the team’s mediocrity failed him. He decided to sign with the Atlanta Falcons in order to chase a Super Bowl ring in the 2013 season, but he failed to make the playoffs with the red-and-black and even saw a significant drop in production. Jackson was released after the 2014 season and remained a free agent for the majority of the 2015 season. Imagine what Steven Jackson could’ve done if he played for a better team that contended for the playoffs on a consistent basis.

Flash forward to the present day and Steven Jackson finally gets to celebrate a postseason touchdown after over a decade. He could’ve done “the dab”, “the whip”, or “the nae-nae” (What all the young kids are doing these days), but he decided to do something every Ram fan remembers: “the Las Vegas dice roll“.

In case you’re a new Los Angeles Rams fan, Steven Jackson’s touchdown celebration is simple. The running back tosses the ball into the air as if he were rolling a pair of dice, follows the falling object with his body, and then punches the air before celebrating with his teammates. It’s a tribute to his hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada, which is famous for its casinos and gambling games.

Watching this celebration on my television on January 24th of 2016 was a painful reminder of how badly the Rams failed Steven Jackson. After the Greatest Show on Turf years, Steven Jackson was one of the only consistent weapons for nine years with the St. Louis offense. I speak for most of Rams Nation when I say this: We’re sorry, Steven.

We’re sorry for never giving you a winning season. We’re sorry for never unleashing your full potential as a professional athlete. We’re sorry for never making the postseason. As much as a lot of Rams fans hate the New England Patriots for the 2001 Super Bowl loss, you got the postseason chance you deserve with the Pats after all those miserable seasons with the Rams.

The St. Louis Rams tried to find the next Steven Jackson through draft picks such as Zac Stacy and Tre Mason, but now we have Todd Gurley. He might not be the same type of running back that Steven Jackson was, but Gurley might be the most talented running back to enter the NFL since Adrian Peterson (Le’Veon Bell is also in the conversation). Barring injury or a surprising decline in production, Todd Gurley will become better than Steven Jackson ever was. However, it would be an unfortunate déjà vu if his efforts can’t lead the Rams to the playoffs due to a lack of overall team success.

The Los Angeles Rams are an extremely talented team stuck in a cycle of disappointment and inconsistency under head coach Jeff Fisher. Here’s to hoping that the Rams don’t fail Todd Gurley like they did with Steven Jackson.