Yes, I don't think he was denied because of that fumble. Craig had already won 3 rings by that point, and had established himself as a key cog in the 49ers winning ways.readjack wrote: ↑Thu Feb 05, 2026 12:54 pmIf they three-peated, then yes, though I don't get the feeling that people collectively hold that fumble against him. I certainly don't hear about it the way I hear about Byner's fumble, or Jackie Smith's drop, or Norwood's miss, or Cam not diving for the football, etc. etc.SeahawkFever wrote: ↑Wed Feb 04, 2026 10:06 pm Roger Craig got in, and very well deserved! Congrats to him!
There is one question I have though: Could he have gotten in sooner if the 49ers threepeated and the fumble in the 1990 NFC Championship Game never happens?
I think the bigger thing with Craig is that he had a relatively short period of great play, and his greatness was outside the norm of what greatness looked like at the position. It makes his OPOY and his NEA MVP all the more impressive.
The big missing piece that held him back, in my view, was not getting SB MVP in XIX. I think the absence of that hurt his Hall odds way more than the fumble.
Craig's statistical dominance was in YFS which is taken a lot more seriously when looking at the stats page now, then it was then. Even now there are still people that hold a runningback's value to JUST rushing yards. Craig had 7 straight seasons of 1K yards from scrimmage, which I know most runningbacks back then weren't doing. And if it was it wasn't on the ground, and through the air. Craig was 1980's All Decade, and a true pioneer at this position. Part of his enshrinement is having a story to tell.