A postgame comment from O.J. Simpson made Carson's year in 1979. After a 32-16 Giants victory over Simpson’s Buffalo Bills, Simpson caught up to Carson as the players left the field. “Man … I’ve been hit by some of the best, but I’ve never been hit as hard as you hit me today,” Simpson said.
The comment was especially meaningful, the Giants captain said, because it not only was unsolicited but it came from one of the game’s all-time great runners. (Simpson won four NFL rushing titles and was the first player to break the 2,000-yard barrier for rushing yards when he totaled 2,003 in 1973.)
