It's tough to win on the road, it's even more rare to thoroughly dominate an opponent in their own yard. That's exactly what the Chicago Bears did in one of the most impressive road victories of the 2012 season.
Greatest on the road ...
Brian Urlacher, Chicago Bears
Turn back the clock to May. In the midst of the doldrums of the NFL offseason, Urlacher unleashed a bold proclamation unto unsuspecting professional football fans: Not only would this be the best team Urlacher's been a part of, but "it's not even close." That says something given the quality of the 2006 Bears team that lost to the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLI.
The Bears' stalwart linebacker and team captain was in the middle of a dominant 51-20 trouncing of the Tennessee Titans. Urlacher had seven tackles, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and an interception return for a touchdown. It's the pick six that has helped the Bears continue a remarkable run at NFL history. The Bears now have seven interceptions returned for touchdowns through eight games. This is amazing from two perspectives: 1) Those seven pick sixes are just two short of a single-season record set in 1961; 2) The Bears have only allowed nine touchdowns on defense this entire season.
Also considered:
Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This is the second consecutive week that Martin has shown up in this space. Following up a breakout performance against the Minnesota Vikings on "Thursday Night Football", Martin etched a little bit of history in the Buccaneers' 42-32 win over the Oakland Raiders.
Although it was a road game for the Buccaneers, this was a sort of homecoming for Martin, who was born in Oakland and went to high school in nearby Stockton. Martin obliterated the Raiders' rush defense, carrying the ball 25 times for a Buccaneers-record 251 yards and four touchdowns. Martin's yardage total easily topped James Wilder's former Buccaneers mark set in 1983, and the touchdown total tied a Tampa Bay record set by Jimmie Giles in 1985.
Martin's two-game yards from scrimmage total (486) on this Buccaneers road trip is also the fifth-best since 1960, behind Walter Payton (525 and 502, each established in 1977), Jim Brown (494, established in 1963) and O.J. Simpson (488, established in 1976).
Isaac Redman, Pittsburgh Steelers
With Rashard Mendenhall and Jonathan Dwyer out of action due to injuries, the Steelers called on their third-string running back to help deliver a pivotal win over the defending Super Bowl champions.
Redman had 26 rushes for 147 yards against the New York Giants, with the yardage total topping his from five previous games combined (127 yards. Redman's touchdown run with four miinutes left to play was the decisive score in what was a come-from-behind 24-20 Steelers' win.
Follow Jim Reineking on Twitter @jimreineking.
