Steven Jackson could cross 1,000-yard barrier for 8th-straight season vs. Buccaneers

After an exceptionally slow start to the 2012 season, Steven Jackson could be back where he always is this time of year, and as soon as next week: On a losing St. Louis Rams team, crossing the 1,000-yard barrier. The Rams were eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday, and Jackson--before the Rams fell behind and had to start passing his way instead--got over 900 yards, and pushed his yard-per-carry average back to 4.0.

Now he's 91 yards away from 1,000, which means that a big game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers--in which the Rams are in competition all the way through--could give him 1,000 with a game to spare. Which is remarkably impressive, given where he started.

What's more impressive is that it would be the eighth season in a row that he did it, out of nine years in the NFL. That's the usual impressive, depressing thing about Steven Jackson: Year after year he's been consistently excellent, and the Rams have been consistently terrible. He was a little less excellent than usual this year, and the Rams were considerably less terrible, but things ended up in the usual arrangement after all.