Who Leads The NFL In Rushing Touchdowns?
After another incredible NFL season, we take a look at which running backs led the league in rushing touchdowns.
Emmitt Smith
In the NFL, Emmitt Smith is the all-time leader in rushing touchdowns with 164. He played for the Dallas Cowboys for thirteen seasons, and is a three-time Super Bowl champion. He was also the league MVP in 1993 and the Super Bowl MVP in 1994.
Rushing touchdowns
Emmitt Smith holds the record for the most rushing touchdowns in NFL history. He played for the Dallas Cowboys for 15 seasons and is the only player to have won three Super Bowl rings with the team. Smith also holds the record for most games with a rushing touchdown, with 90.
Average yards per carry
The most important measure of a running back’s efficiency is yards per carry.
Yards per carry is a simple statistic that measures how many yards a running back gains, on average, every time he carries the football.
It’s not perfect, but it’s a good way to compare running backs who play in different systems and against different defenses.
Emmitt Smith, who played for the Dallas Cowboys from 1990 to 2002, is the NFL’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns. He also happens to have the league’s best career yards-per-carry average, at 5.2 yards per attempt.
Total rushing yards
Emmitt Smith is the NFL’s all-time leader in rushing yards with 18,355. He played for the Dallas Cowboys for fifteen seasons and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
LaDainian Tomlinson
LaDainian Tomlinson is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. He is the NFL’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns with 162. He also ranks fourth on the all-time list for career rushing yards with 13,684.
Rushing touchdowns
Tomlinson holds the NFL record for most rushing touchdowns in a season, with 28 in 2006. He also holds the league’s single-season record for total touchdowns, with 31 in 2007. In 2010, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Average yards per carry
In 2006, LaDainian Tomlinson had one of the best seasons for a running back in NFL history. He rushed for 1,815 yards and scored 28 touchdowns, leading the league in both categories. He also had career highs in rushing attempts ( 348) and carries per game (22.4). His 6.3 yards per carry was the second highest average in a season for a running back with at least 300 carries, behind only O.J. Simpson’s 6.5 average in 1973.
Total rushing yards
9,176 yards
Adrian Peterson
Adrian Lewis Peterson is an American football running back for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He is one of the most decorated running backs in NFL history, having been named to eight Pro Bowls, and led the league in rushing yards three times and rushing touchdowns twice. As of the 2019 NFL season, Peterson is ranked seventh in NFL history in career rushing yards, and tenth in career rushing touchdowns.
Rushing touchdowns
In the National Football League (NFL), the leader in rushing touchdowns is determined by the season’s rushing touchdown leader. The record for most rushing touchdowns in a career is 164, set by Emmitt Smith. The record for most rushing touchdowns in a season is 28, set by LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006.
There have been 12 instances of a player leading the league in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. The most recent occurrence was in 2015, when Adrian Peterson led the NFL in both categories.
Average yards per carry
Adrian Lewis Peterson (born March 21, 1985) is an American football running back for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma, and was drafted by the Vikings seventh overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. Peterson set an NFL record for most rushing yards in a single game (296) as a rookie against the San Diego Chargers.
In 2010, he became the fifth fastest player to run for 5,000 yards, doing so in his 49th career game. That year, he also became the first running back to lead the league in rushing yards and touchdowns since 2001. He has been selected for six Pro Bowls and was named AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year four times. He has also been named AP First-Team All-Pro four times and Second-Team All-Pro once
Total rushing yards
Adrian Peterson leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns with 11. He also has the most yards from scrimmage with 1,420.
Walter Payton
With 110 career rushing touchdowns, Payton holds the NFL record for most rushing touchdowns by a single player. He also holds the record for most touchdowns in a season, with 27 in 1977. Payton was a nine-time Pro Bowl selection and was the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 1977.
Rushing touchdowns
Walter Payton was a superstar running back for the Chicago Bears. He was elected to the NFL Hall of Fame in 1993, his first year of eligibility. He played 13 seasons for the Bears (1975-87) and is the franchise’s all-time leading rusher with 16,726 yards. He also holds the NFL record for most career rushing touchdowns with 110.
Average yards per carry
Payton’s career 5.5 average yards per carry is the best in NFL history for a running back with at least 1,000 carries.
Total rushing yards
Walter Payton was a legendary football player for the Chicago Bears. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest running backs of all time, and he holds the NFL record for most rushing yards in a career. Payton also holds the record for most rushing touchdowns in a season, with 21.
Barry Sanders
Barry Sanders was one of the most prolific running backs in NFL history. He played for the Detroit Lions from 1989 to 1998. In that time, he racked up an impressive total of 99 rushing touchdowns. This total is good for fourth all-time in NFL history. Sanders was a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and his number 20 was retired by the Lions.
Rushing touchdowns
In his illustrious 10-year NFL career, Sanders racked up an incredible 99 rushing touchdowns, which is still good for fourth all-time. He did so despite never playing a full 16-game season, and his 15 touchdowns in 1997 are tied for the ninth-most in a single season.
Average yards per carry
Barry Sanders was one of the most elusive runners in NFL history. In his 10-year career with the Detroit Lions, Sanders averaged an incredible 5.0 yards per carry. That’s the second best average in NFL history, behind only Hall of Famer Jim Brown (5.2).
Total rushing yards
Barry Sanders is the NFL’s all-time leader in rushing yards with 15,269. He’s also the league’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns with 99.
