What teams did O.J. Simpson play for in the NFL and did he win any Super Bowls?
As the world comes to terms with his death, we take a look at the NFL career of the man they called “The Juice”, or as football fans know him, O.J. Simpson.
“If you’re going to be a superstar, in sports or anything else, it’s your mind - not your body - that’ll get you there...it’s concentration, the ability to blot out everything that doesn’t help you do your best.” Those were the words once spoken by Orenthal James Simpson, the man we know as O.J. Simpson, and we take the body of work that he accomplished as a running back in the NFL into consideration, it appears he did just that.
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A look back at O.J. Simpson’s career
From his early days at the University of Southern California, it was clear that O.J. Simpson was a special player. Indeed, by the end of his time in college not only was he a two-time unanimous All-American, but he was also a Heisman Trophy winner (1968), a feat he accomplished en route to being regarded as the NFL’s most sought-after rookie in many years. To that end, it was the Buffalo Bills who became the envy of the league when they selected Simpson with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1969 NFL/AFL common draft.
Yet, it’s got to be said that Simpson didn’t exactly hit the ground running. Indeed, it was not until Lou Saban took over as the head coach of the Bills in 1972 that football fans saw Simpson begin to truly live up to the hype. From that year to 1976, he led the NFL in rushing four times in five seasons. The 7,699 rushing yards that he registered during that period was No. 1 in the league and by a whole lot as well, with no other player managing to come within 2,500 yards of his mark. Of course, it was during that time - 1973 to be specific - that Simpson notched what is widely considered the greatest season of his career, becoming not just the league MVP, but the first running back in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards, with an incredible 419 yards in the last two games of the year.
Even more impressive, is that in that very same season, Simpson would go on to break Jim Brown’s single-season rushing record of 1,863 yards (1968), finally ending the campaign with 2,003 yards. His average of 143.1 rushing yards per game remains the highest in league history to this very day. Interestingly, there are those who will likely tell you that his 1975 run was even better, as he registered a career-high 2,243 yards from scrimmage and scored a then single-season record 23 touchdowns (16 rushing, seven receiving). Ultimately, by the time the curtain came down on his career, he had played for both the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers, played in six Pro Bowls (1969, 1972-76), and was a first-team All-Pro selection five times (1972-76). Simpson was also named to the NFL All-Decade Team of the 1970s, the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team and the NFL 100 All-Time Team. Yet, ironically, as good as he clearly was, Simpson only managed to play in one playoff game in his entire career, a 1974 Divisional Round game between the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers which the Bills lost 32-14. That’s right, The Juice never won a Super Bowl because he never even played in one.