The 7 Most Efficient Seasons By 30-Plus-Year-Old Running Backs Since the Turn of the Century

Curtis Martin, 2004

Season: 2004
Team: New York Jets
Age: 30
Total NEP: 43.25
Production: 1,697 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. 41 receptions for 245 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Despite concerns regarding his durability during the 1995 NFL Draft, Curtis Martin's age-30 season in 2004 marked his 10th straight year rushing for over 1,000 yards which started in his rookie season with New England.

A model of consistency, only once did Martin ever record less than 300 rushing attempts or 1,100 rushing yards in his first 10 seasons in the league. But no season was quite as impressive as his first in his thirties.

Putting up 43.25 Total NEP on the year with 1,697 yards on the ground, Martin became the oldest player in league history to win the rushing title. In arguably the best season in his prolific career, Martin would help the Jets to a 10-win record and an upset of the AFC West champion San Diego Chargers in the Wild Card Round before losing in the Divisional round to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Unfortunately, Martin's 2004 performance would be his swan song. Suffering what was at the time diagnosed as a strained right knee in the second game of the 2005 season, Martin would hobble his way through the year, hitting 100 yards rushing just once all season before electing for season-ending surgery. And after failing to rehab his way back to the field in 2006, Martin would finally call it quits in the 2007 offseason as the league's fourth leading rusher of all-time.