Top 25 NFL running backs whose careers were derailed too early

The “Dirty Bird.”

Anderson was instrumental in the Atlanta Falcons’ unexpected run to the Super Bowl in 1998, rushing for a career-high 1,846 yards and 14 touchdowns that season, capping off an impressive three-season stretch of 1,000-plus yard rushing performances.

The dirty bird dance, Anderson’s signature touchdown celebration, became a cultural phenomenon that year.

However, a pair of knee injuries cut his career woefully short.

The Falcons’ precipitous collapse in 1999 on the heels of losing the Super Bowl to John Elway and the Denver Broncos that February was preceded by Anderson tearing his ACL in Week 3, ending his season. For Anderson, the injury woes only got worse.

After returning in 2000, and rushing for 1,024 yards and six touchdowns, Anderson tore his ACL for the second time in three seasons in Sept. of 2001 in a Week 3 contest against the Arizona Cardinals that wound up being career-ending.

For as much talent and potential that Anderson flashed in his first three seasons, one has to wonder what might have been had his career taken place a decade later when advancements in medical technology made it possible for athletes to return from ACL surgeries in little more than a year and sometimes less.

• Career stats: 1,329 carries for 5,336 yards and 34 touchdowns, 156 receptions for 1,645 yards and 7 touchdowns
• 1998 First-team All-Pro
• 1998 Pro Bowler