Dickerson Returns as Rams Play Seahawks

After a two-game absence because of a contract holdout, Eric Dickerson, the National Football League’s single-season rushing record holder, returns to the Los Angeles Rams’ lineup tonight against the Seattle Seahawks at the Kingdome.

The Seahawks (2-0) are seven-point favorites over the Rams (2-0). It is Seattle’s 1985 regular-season home opener.

The Seahawks have not been a good defensive team this season. They have allowed 59 points in two games, winning 49-35 at San Diego last Sunday.

Dickerson ended a 47-day holdout before the Rams’ game at Philadelphia last Sunday. He watched from the sideline as the Rams won 17-6.

Dickerson led the league in rushing in his first two seasons in the NFL. He set the rushing record of 2,105 yards on 379 carries in 1984 and gained 1,808 yards on 390 carries as a rookie in 1983. He is bidding to join Jim Brown and Earl Campbell as the only players in NFL history to lead the league in rushing in each of their first three seasons.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks’ Curt Warner has demonstrated in Seattle’s two games this season that he is fully recovered from a severe knee injury he suffered in the 1984 regular-season opener.

He had his second-best single-game rushing performance of his NFL career in San Diego with 169 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries.