As he prepares to enter the Jaguars’ version of a Hall of Fame, retired running back Fred Taylor still thinks of a day 12 years ago when all or part of his uniform could have been sent to Canton.
Taylor, who will become the fourth member of the “Pride of the Jaguars” during Sunday’s game against the Bengals, says that a game against the Steelers should have resulted in Taylor setting the single-game rushing record.
“If I have one regret about my career, it’s that Pittsburgh game because the 234 yards should have been the [NFL] single-game rushing record,” Taylor told Gene Frenette of the Florida Times-Union. “I can do nothing to bring that back.”
At the time, the record was 278 yards, set less than a month previously by Bengals running back Corey Dillon. (Currently, the high-water mark sits at 296 yards, set five years ago by Vikings running back Adrian Peterson when Peterson was a rookie in 2007.)
Taylor previously has said that the fact the Steelers game was played at night helped him have a big game, because he had consumed too much alcohol on Friday night and needed extra time to recover.
As he joins the Jaguars immortals, our message to Taylor is this: Drink all you want, as long as you have ride home.