Williams Is Faster Than Mercury

Move over, Mercury Morris. Take that plaque out of your trophy case, Lamar Smith. He might be a little shy, but Ricky Williams has no problem removing you from the top of a category in the Miami Dolphins’ record book.

Battling a cold wind and a slick field, Williams set a Dolphin record with 228 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns in Miami’s 38-21 loss to the Bills at Orchard Park, N.Y.

The game began with a temperature of 25 degrees and ended in near-whiteout conditions as a heavy snow fell through most of the fourth quarter.

“I’ve been preparing for it since Monday. I’d check on my phone to see the forecast and look on the computer every chance I had,” Williams said of the weather. “I was a little nervous about it. It was cold and miserable, but we did a good job up front and it made my job easy.”

Looks like Ricky didn’t let the 17-point loss interfere with his enjoyment of his records.

The Dolphins, who lost quarterback Ray Lucas to a nerve injury in his neck, couldn’t be carried by Williams alone. Williams scored on 45- and 55-yard runs and broke the single-game franchise record held by Smith, who rushed for 209 yards in a playoff game against Indianapolis on Dec. 30, 2000. Morris held the regular-season record, rushing for 197 yards against New England on Sept. 30, 1973.

Williams also set a single-season Dolphin record with 1,284 yards, beating the mark of 1,258 set by Delvin Williams in 1978.

Ricky Williams was well short of a less-glorious NFL record: His rushing total was the second-most by a player in a loss. O.J. Simpson set the mark with 273 yards in Buffalo’s 27-14 loss to Detroit on Nov. 25, 1976.

Oh, and for those of you wondering what Larry Csonka’s best rushing game was for the Dolphins, it was 145 yards against Minnesota in Super Bowl VIII, a 24-7 victory. His season high was 1,117 yards, set in 1972.

Williams, in his first season with the Dolphins after spending three with New Orleans, also moved into the top six all-time in the most rushing yards for a player in his first year with a club. The top five: 1. Priest Holmes, 2001 Kansas City, 1,555 yards; 2. Jerome Bettis, 1996 Pittsburgh, 1,431; 3. Marshall Faulk, 1999 St. Louis, 1,381; 4. Terry Allen, 1995 Washington, 1,309; 5. Curtis Martin, 1998 New York Jets, 1,287.

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It was a day for records across the NFL. Some of the more notable:

* Tampa Bay defensive end Simeon Rice set an NFL record by getting at least two sacks for the fifth consecutive game.

Rice, who began Sunday’s game against New Orleans leading the league with 11 1/2 sacks, got to Saint quarterback Aaron Brooks on consecutive plays during the first quarter.

The sacks came after the Saints had reached the Tampa Bay 15. On second and 10, Rice dumped Brooks for a one-yard loss, then followed it up by chasing him out of the pocket and tackling him 14 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Rice beat Saint left tackle Kyle Turley on both plays. He finished the game with three sacks and a safety.

Rice shared the record of four consecutive multi-sack games with Reggie White (Philadelphia in 1987) and Kevin Greene (Carolina in 1998).

* Indianapolis’ Marvin Harrison caught a nine-yard pass with 10:15 left in the 19-3 victory over Houston, tying Raymond Berry’s club record for receptions (631).

Berry, a Hall of Famer, played for the Colts from 1955 to 1967. Harrison is in his seventh season.

Last week, Harrison became the first player in NFL history to produce four consecutive 100-reception seasons, and he already has broken Berry’s team record for touchdown receptions. Harrison has 70, Berry had 68.

* Tennessee running back Eddie George set the franchise’s career rushing record with a four-yard run in the first quarter of a 32-29 win over the New York Giants.

George came into the game needing four yards to surpass the mark of 8,574, set by Earl Campbell from 1978 to 1984, when the team was known as the Houston Oilers.

George got a yard on the first play from scrimmage and broke the mark with a run off right tackle. He has 8,635 yards after gaining 64 yards in 20 carries.

Said George: “It’s a great honor to break Earl Campbell’s record. He played so many years before me and I watched him when I was younger.”

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Kansas City’s 49-0 win over Arizona, the worst loss in the recorded history of the Cardinals franchise, spurred an apology from Chiefs’ Coach Dick Vermeil to Cardinal Coach Dave McGinnis.

The Chiefs increased their lead to 49-0 with 7:52 remaining in the game when Todd Collins connected with Marc Boerigter on a 29-yard touchdown pass play.

“I’d like to apologize to Dave McGinnis about that last touchdown,” Vermeil said. “I don’t think it was a real good call, and if I had heard, I should have stopped the call. I would just as soon not score, because I have a lot of respect for Dave and his coaches.”

What was Vermeil doing on the sideline that was more important than paying attention to what plays were being called? It’s enough to make a grown man cry.