PERSONAL:

Hometown is Seattle, Wash. … Played at Franklin High School, where he won all-state honors in football and was named All-Metro Player of the Year … Also earned all-metro honors in baseball … Senior year in high school was 1992-93 … Sat out 1993 football season before enrolling at Garden City JC for ’94 season … Physical education major at Washington. Selected by San Diego Padres (as an outfielder) in the 1993 free agent baseball draft.

Record holder for top rushing game in NFL history, 278 yards vs. Denver in 2000, Dillon targets Bengals’ career rushing mark in 2002 … Enters season with 6209 yards, 238 short of James Brooks’ record 6447 … Rushed for 1315 yards in 2001, second only to his own club-record 1435 the season before … Has played in the last three Pro Bowls … Has by far the best average in Bengals annals for rushing yards per game (79.6), and it appears he’ll take less than six full seasons to break a career rushing mark that Brooks took eight seasons to compile … Posted career highs in touchdowns (13) and receptions (34) in 2001.

DILLON BENCHMARKS:

The Bengals have never lost with Dillon rushing for 130 or more yards, posting a 9-0 record. Also, the Bengals are:
17-9 when Dillon carries 22 or more times. 10-2 when Dillon rushes for 125 or more yards. 13-9 when Dillon rushes for 100 or more yards.
PRO BOWLS: Dillon was named to the AFC team for the 2002 Pro Bowl on Jan. 31, 2002. The berth was the third straight for Dillon. Among Bengals running backs, only James Brooks was chosen for more Pro Bowls (four). Dillon finished as the first alternate at running back in the AFC Pro Bowl voting, and was named to the team when Pittsburgh’s Jerome Bettis was ruled out of the game due to a groin injury. Dillon earned his first two Pro Bowl berths by being voted directly to the roster as one of the top three AFC finishers among running backs. In last season’s Pro Bowl, Dillon rushed for 58 yards on 6 carries (9.7 avg.) in a 38-30 AFC win. He gained 29 and 16 yards on consecutive carries in the fourth quarter. In the Pro Bowl following the 2000 season, he was 5-for-16 rushing and 2-for-36 receiving. In his first Pro Bowl, after the 1999 season, he had 1 reception for 9 yards, 1 rush for minus-3 yards and 57 yards on 2 kickoff returns.

THE RECORD-BREAKER:

Dillon’s 278 rushing yards on Oct. 22, 2000 vs. Denver are the NFL’s most-ever in a game. The performance surpassed Walter Payton’s mark of 275, which had stood for nearly 23 years, since Nov. 20, 1977. Dillon amassed the record total on just 22 carries, averaging 12.6 yards per trip. Payton had 40 carries in his 275-yard game, and Dillon’s number of carries stands as the fewest by any player in the top 10 rushing games in NFL history. Dillon had seven runs of more than 20 yards in the 31-21 Bengals victory against Denver, including five of more than 30 yards. He scored touchdowns in the fourth quarter on runs of 65 and 41 yards. The 65-yarder extended Cincinnati’s lead to 24-14 with 4:58 to play, and the 41-yarder put the score at its final margin of 31-21 with 1:49 to play. The 41-yarder was Dillon’s final carry of the day, pushing him over Payton’s record yardage total. Remarkably in the record effort, Dillon was held to 1 yard or less on 41% of his carries (9 of 22). He rushed for 58 yards on 4 carries in the first quarter, 19 yards on 5 carries in the second, 93 yards on 7 carries in the third and 108 yards on 6 carries in the fourth. Dillon has two of the top eight rushing games in NFL history, as his 246-yard effort as a rookie in 1997 vs. Tennessee is in the No. 8 spot all-time.

COLLEGE:

Played at Washington only in 1996, designated as a junior, and departed with a remarkable list of school season records — rushing yards (1555), attempts (271), TDs (23), rushing TDs (22), all-purpose yards (2185) and scoring (138) … Posted multiple records despite starting only 8 of 11 games, as he was backup to Rashaan Shehee until Shehee was sidelined with ankle injury in Game 3 … In Holiday Bowl vs. Colorado, rushed for 140 yards and added 2 more touchdowns to his regular-season total of 23 … Scored 5 TDs in 41-21 conquest of UCLA, earning Sports Illustrated National Player of the Week honors as he rushed for 145 yards and added 53 yards in receptions … Played JC ball at Dixie College in St. George, Utah, in 1995, and was chosen JC Offensive Back of the Year by College Sports magazine after rushing 279 times for 1899 yards and 20 TDs … In 1994, rushed for 1165 yards and 16 TDs at Garden City (Kan.) JC.