FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Steven Jackson is as surprised as anyone that it took him this long to get back to the NFL playoffs.
For nearly a decade, the running back was the soul of the St. Louis Rams, a dreadlocks-sporting highlight reel on a dreadful team.
Jackson rushed for more than 1,000 yards each year from 2005 to 2012, and caught another 388 passes. Those Rams teams went 36-91-1.
So Jackson bolted for Atlanta in the hopes of snaring a championship.
Different dome, same doom.
The years of punishment inflicted on Jackson’s 6-foot-2, 240-pound body seemed to catch up with him; he averaged a mere 3.6 yards per carry in 2013 and ’14, rushing for only 1,250 yards. Worse, the Falcons bottomed out and went 10-22 in those seasons.
Jackson, at age 32, was unwanted as the 2015 season unfolded. He kept himself in shape but didn’t get a call. Finally he came to accept that his 11-year NFL career had ended without getting to play for a championship team.
That all changed when the Patriots reached out last month, looking to pick up a veteran back for their annual playoff push after injuries cost them the services of Dion Lewis and LeGarrette Blount. Jackson wanted a couple of days to decide if he was really in NFL shape, then called back to accept the offer. He signed a free-agent contract Dec. 22 and appeared in New England’s final two games, losses to the Jets and Dolphins.
“I thought it was over and I was comfortable with that. I wasn’t someone regretful or someone that was depressed,” Jackson said this week as New England prepares to host Kansas City in the AFC divisional playoffs Saturday. “Eleven years as an NFL running back, at that point it’s a long time and I had a really good career.”
Jackson played in two playoff games in his rookie season with the Rams after being their first-round pick out of Oregon State in 2004.
He was the fresh-legged understudy to Marshall Faulk then, gaining 673 yards in a regular season that saw St. Louis finish 8-8 but qualify for a wild-card berth in the NFC. He carried 19 times for 68 yards as the Rams beat Seattle before getting blasted by the Falcons.
And then he found himself in an NFL wasteland.
“You definitely appreciate it but you kind of take it for granted,” Jackson said of tasting the postseason at age 21. “As a rookie you assume those things are going to come, if not every year, pretty often.”
A three-time Pro Bowler, Jackson has quickly impressed Patriots Coach Bill Belichick with his hard work and humility.
“You would think he’s a rookie – he’s just trying to soak everything in, understand everything as well as he can. He practices hard, he runs scout team, does the things he needs to do to improve, and work on some things he hasn’t been able to do in months when he was working out but not playing football,” Belichick said. “Literally every day he walks off the field is better than it was the day before.”
Jackson ran 21 times for just 50 yards in his two Patriots appearances, but showed some of his old form when he turned a screen pass into a 20-yard gain. He also scored a touchdown – the 78th of his career – on a 2-yard run.
Jackson is the third running back on the team’s unofficial depth chart this week, behind James White and Brandon Bolden. As always with New England, it’s dangerous to assume which running backs are going to get the bulk of the work come game day.
Belichick has praised Jackson as being a back who could play all three downs because of his pass-catching ability.
For White, who has been the primary receiver out of the backfield in recent weeks (40 catches, 410 yards), it’s just a thrill to be able to learn from someone he grew up watching on TV.
“He’s a big guy, a physical, guy, runs tough, runs through tackles,” said White, 23, in his second season.
Jackson, his dreadlocks now gone, is the latest in a series of tailbacks who have made their way to New England in search of a title. It worked for Antowain Smith and Corey Dillon, but not for Sammy Morris and Fred Taylor.
Jackson said it’s not about his legacy.
“This is not about proving anything to anybody else. This is more so giving myself a fair chance,” he said. “When I left St. Louis, I thought I was doing that in Atlanta. Things didn’t work out the way I anticipated but here I am now, the first time I’ve been on a winning team and hopefully I can make a deep playoff run.
“I definitely still have that youthful energy. You have to play the game with that youthful energy. If you don’t, guys in this league will run circles around you.”
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.