NEW ORLEANS -- Steelers running back Jerome Bettis failed to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame for a third straight year.

Bettis is the sixth-leading rusher in NFL history with 13,662 yards. The top four (Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders and Curtis Martin) are in the Hall of Fame, and LaDainian Tomlinson, who is fifth, retired before the start of the 2012 season.

What hurts Bettis is his yards per carry, which was a less-than-impressive 3.9.

In his first two years of eligibility, he has been blocked by other running backs -- Marshall Faulk in 2011 and Martin in 2012.