Best Running Back Tandems

I enjoy and respect the insights of NFL.com Analyst Bucky Brooks. He's one of the few analysts with NFL experience as both a player and a scout. But I believe that he lost his mind recently when he said that the New Orleans Saints running back duo of Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara is the best in NFL history. First of all, it's way too early to make a statement like that. Kamara has played in only 12 games and he and Ingram can only be considered a tandem for eight of those games. The Saints employed a clunky rotation that included Adrian Peterson for the first four games of the season. Ingram and Kamara have been brilliant together. Their versatility and production have turned the Saints offense into one of the most difficult to defend in the league. It would be closer to reality if Brooks had said that the duo was currently the best in the league. Fans of the running back stables put together in New England, Philadelphia might debate that. The Atlanta Falcon's wonderful backfield tandem of Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman has to be part of the conversation. The best backfield tandem in history? No matter how brilliant Ingram and Kamara have been through eight games they aren't even close to consideration for the best in league history. Here are some of the best.

1922-23 Oorang Indians
Jim Thorpe
Joe Guyon
Might as well start with the first great tandem. Both are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The only problem with this pairing was that Thorpe's best football days were those that preceded the NFL.

Early 1930s Chicago Bears
Bronko Nagurski
Red Grange
Nagurski was just getting started on his great career. Grange was coming to an end.

1930s Green Bay Packers
Johnny (Blood) McNally
Clarke Hinkle
McNally's pass catching versatility and Hinkle's hard-charging ways could be a comparison for Ingram and Kamara. But the new guys have to do it for years rather than 8 games for this comparison to stand.

1935 Detroit Lions
Dutch Clark
Glenn Presnell
Ace Gutowsky
This was one of the best running teams that the league has ever seen.

Late 1940s Chicago Cardinals
Charley Trippi
Marshall Goldberg
Pat Harder
Elmer Angsman
This backfield even had a nickname. Along with quarterback Paul Christman this bunch was known as the "Dream Backfield." The origins of the Cardinals can be traced to the 1800s. They are the oldest team in the league. Their only glory years were the years that this backfield was together. They won the NFL title in 1947.

Mid 1950s San Francisco 49ers
Joe Perry
Hugh McElhenny
John Henry Johnson
This backfield had a nickname as well. Along with quarterback Y.A. Tittle they were the "Million Dollar Backfield." No titles but a lot of running fun.

Late 1950s Cleveland Browns
Jim Brown
Bobby Mitchell
Mitchell's best NFL days were as a receiver with the Washington Redskins but he was an electric, versatile compliment to the great Jim Brown. Brown and a bag of leaves would be a great backfield tandem.

Late 1950s Baltimore Colts
Lenny Moore
Alan Ameche
L.G. Dupre
Perhaps because I find the Colts teams of this era as some of the most interesting in league history I've always liked this tandem. Moore is a Hall of Famer. He could've made it to Canton as a back or as a receiver. Instead he made it as a bit of both. Ameche might've joined Moore in the Hall of Fame if head coach Weeb Ewbank didn't have a strange animosity for him.

1960s Green Bay Packers
Jim Taylor
Paul Hornung
There's no denying the great accomplishments of this duo. Team-wise and individually.

Early 1970s Miami Dolphins
Larry Csonka
Jim Kiick
Mercury Morris
Defenses often got too much everything with this trio. Csonka's power wore out defenses. Kiick could do a little bit of everything. Morris simply ran past defenders. Csonka and Morris were the first teammates to hit the 1000-yard mark in the same season.

1970s Pittsburgh Steelers
Franco Harris
Rocky Bleier
This duo made it possible for the team to win titles while their quarterback developed. Harris and Bleier also hit the 1000-yard mark together in 1976. If they hadn't both been hurt for the '76 AFC Championship game against the Oakland Raiders the Steelers might've won three straight Super Bowls.

1976 New England Patriots
Sam Cunningham
Andy Johnson
Don Calhoun
This is an underrated backfield. I had to include them because as a young fan I was intrigued that a team could have three running backs that gained at least 699 yards rushing. This was an era of workhorse backs and the Patriots employed a committee. An effective committee.

1981 San Diego Chargers
Chuck Muncie
James Brooks
Air Coryell had some running backs too.

1983 Washington Redskins
John Riggins
Joe Washington
Thunder and Lightning.

Late 1980s Cleveland Browns
Kevin Mack
Ernest Byner
This backfield would be even better known if the Browns could've gotten past the Denver Broncos at least once.

Late 1980s Los Angeles Raiders
Marcus Allen
Bo Jackson
Bo Jackson was a wonder. It's thrilling and very sad to think about what his career could've been. At the time Allen's best days were probably behind him and his deteriorating relationship with Al Davis surely impacted his play but he was still a very good running back. His productive years with the Kansas City Chiefs showed that he wasn't done. Jackson's brilliance kinda made Allen look ordinary. 

Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara have a very long way to go to be mentioned with the likes of most of the above.