When Chris Ivory was growing up in Longview, Texas, he was a Cowboys fan like most people in his hometown about two hours east of Dallas. More specifically, Ivory was a fan of Emmitt Smith.
“That was really the only time I watched ball was when I was watching the Cowboys,” Ivory said Wednesday at the Jets practice facility. “He was one of those elite guys in my eyes growing up and everybody else’s eyes as well. Anytime he played, I followed him when I was watching the Cowboys with my uncles and my cousins.”
Guess what? The kid from Longview returns to Texas this weekend as one of the elite running backs in the NFL, leading the AFC in rushing with a career-high 914 yards on 217 carries. Ivory will have a chance to reach the coveted 1,000 yards rushing for a season Saturday night when the Jets (8-5) play the Cowboys (4-9) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
“Right now, it looks like I’m on pace for it,” Ivory said. “When it happens it will be an exciting moment for me. But all in all, I just I want to be productive these next couple of games and get wins.”
An undrafted free agent who stuck with the Saints in 2010 and was acquired by the Jets before the 2013 season, Ivory has been eager to prove he can be productive and dependable on a consistent basis. He managed at least 800 yards rushing his two previous seasons, but never got in the kind of grove that made him feared.
It looked like this year might follow a similar pattern after Ivory was a force early on rushing for 460 yards over his first four games, only to gain only 183 over his next four. All the vibes are good again after Ivory churned for 101 yards on 22 carries during last week’s 30-8 whipping of the Titans at MetLife Stadium.
The Cowboys are nothing special against the run, ranking 18th in the league, allowing 113.8 yards per game. The Jets are averaging 117.7 yards rushing per game, just enough to keep defenses honest.
Ivory has earned the praises of offensive coordinator Chan Gailey.
“He plays extremely hard every week,” Gailey said. “He’s become a pass threat for us, which is great and he runs the ball extremely, extremely hard. He’s given us what we need in our offense right now. He is somebody they can’t say, ‘OK, we just have to defend the pass.’ That’s the best thing right now. They know he will go out and rush for a 100 [yards] on them in a heartbeat.”
Ivory is a thick, hard-nosed back, susceptible to the wear and tear that comes with it. The Jets want to keep him healthy, monitoring his carries to some degree. Ivory has averaged about 16 carries per game over his last five games.
“We’re trying to be smart without hurting the team,” Gailey said.
The late-arriving winter has helped the Jets’ passing game flourish. The importance of the running game and the workload of its running backs figures to increase as the weather turns colder. Bilal Powell has emerged as a nice complement to Ivory using his speed and shiftiness, getting about five rushes and five receptions per game.
“As long as we’re being competitive in the game, I’m all fine with that,” Ivory said.
Adrian Peterson leads the league in rushing with 1,251 yards and three other NFC backs have more yards than Ivory. But the Jets running back said he thinks he’s done enough to be considered among the best in the league.
“Anybody that’s paying attention to the things I do on the field and that I’ve done can see that,” Ivory said.
The kid from Texas is becoming an elite guy in everybody else’s eyes.