The sports world has more "curses" than Timur's Tomb with the Hope Diamond, the Cursing Stone of Carlisle, and Busby's Stoop inside them.
There's the Curse of the Billy Goat, which haunted the Chicago Cubs for over a century before they finally won a World Series in 2016. The Curse of the Bambino, which did the same to the Boston Red Sox. In the NFL, there is the Curse of Bobby Layne, which doomed the Detroit Lions to a half-century of futility. And of course, the Madden curse, which damns any player who graces the cover of the video game to a rotten season.
Here's the thing. Most of those curses are bunk. Bogus. Hokum. Hooey.
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The Cubs didn't fail to win a World Series all that time because of a goat—it was because of Steve Bartman, silly. Booby Layne probably did a lot of cursing when he was traded in 1958, but Matt Millen did more damage in Motown than Layne's supernatural abilities. The Madden curse didn't make Payton Hillis bad in 2011. He was just never that good to begin with.
Oh, and if you're wondering, Busby's Stoop is a chair that some murder-y guy named Busby sat in and then cursed before he was executed in 1702. If you sit in Busby's Stoop, you will die quickly and badly.
People actually believe that.
However, there is one curse that appears far too real. A curse that should strike fear into the hearts of fantasy managers everywhere. A curse that can kill your season faster than popping a squat on that uncomfortable-looking chair (it was 1702—La-Z-Boy wasn't a thing yet).
It is "The Curse of 370." And it has another running back squarely in its sights in 2026.
A Curse is Born
The term "The Curse of 370" was coined back in 2004 by Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders. After Ricky Williams carried the ball 383 times in 2002 and 392 times in 2003 for the Miami Dolphins, Schatz decided to look at the impact of a 370-plus carry season on running backs the following year.
This is the point in this column where you might want to hit the liquor cabinet—because the tone doesn't get any lighter from here.
"These backs basically fall into three categories," Schatz wrote. "Guys who got injured the next year, guys who were never as good again, and guys who are Eric Dickerson."
Since 1980, there have been 30 running backs who have amassed over 370 carries in the regular season. Of that group, all of one (Eric Dickerson, who set the single-season rushing record in 1984 after a staggering 390 carries as a rookie) improved on his production from the previous year. A full 40 percent saw their production drop by over 50 percent. The average decrease in production eclipsed 40 percent. Over two-thirds of those runners missed time the year after a 370-carry campaign.
Here's a look at the dozen NFL backs who have racked up over 370 totes in a regular season in the 21st Century.
| Year | Player | Carries | Rush Yds. | RYNY | GMNY | Drop % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Eddie George (TEN) | 403 | 1,509 | 939 | 0 | 37.8 |
| 2000 | Edgerrin James (IND) | 387 | 1,709 | 662 | 10 | 61.9 |
| 2002 | Ricky Williams (MIA) | 383 | 1,853 | 1,372 | 0 | 26.0 |
| 2002 | LaDainian Tomlinson | 372 | 1,683 | 1,645 | 0 | 2.3 |
| 2003 | Ricky Williams (MIA) | 392 | 1,372 | Retired | N/A | N/A |
| 2003 | Jamal Lewis (BAL) | 383 | 2,066 | 1,006 | 4 | 51.4 |
| 2004 | Curtis Martin (NYJ) | 371 | 1,697 | 735 | 4 | 56.7 |
| 2005 | Shaun Alexander (SEA) | 370 | 1,880 | 896 | 6 | 52.3 |
| 2006 | Lawrence Johnson (KC) | 416 | 1,789 | 559 | 8 | 68.8 |
| 2008 | Michael Turner (ATL) | 376 | 1,699 | 781 | 5 | 54.0 |
| 2014 | DeMarco Murray (DAL) | 392 | 1,845 | 702 | 1 | 62.0 |
| 2020 | Derrick Henry (BAL) | 378 | 2,027 | 937 | 9 | 53.8 |
Pass the gin. Daddy needs a drink.
Of that dirty dozen, one player (the great LaDainian Tomlinson in 2002) avoided a decrease in rushing yards of at least 25 percent the year after 370 carries. Two-thirds of them saw a drop-off of at least 50 percent—and that doesn't count Williams walking away from the NFL altogether in 2003.
If you remove Sticky Icky Ricky from the equation, those backs averaged 1,796 yards on the ground over their 370-carry seasons. The following year, that number fell to 930 rushing yards—a decrease of 48.2 percent. They averaged over four missed games a season—a quarter of the year.
Now, you'll also notice that 370-carry backs have essentially gone the way of the Dodo bird—since 2014, only two backs have carried the ball at least 370 times. Only one (Derrick Henry) has since 2020. Granted, the bottom dropped out for both players the following season, but if ball-carriers aren't tallying that many carries in a year anymore, then the Curse of 370 is dead, right?
Right?