List of National Football League annual rushing touchdowns leaders

This is a season-by-season list of National Football League players who have led the regular season in rushing touchdowns.[1] Although rushing has both an offensive and a defensive meaning, this list charts offensive rushing touchdowns, usually scored by a running back, either a halfback or a fullback.

In 2006, LaDainian Tomlinson set the NFL record for most rushing touchdowns in a season with 28

Record-keeping for rushing touchdowns began in 1932, when Bronko Nagurski of the Chicago Bears led the league with 4 rushing touchdowns. Since then, LaDainian Tomlinson has set the record for rushing touchdowns in a season, when he led the league in 2006, with 28 rushing touchdowns, while playing with the San Diego Chargers.[2] Prior to Tomlinson's setting of the record, Priest Holmes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Shaun Alexander of the Seattle Seahawks, jointly held the record with 27, reaching that mark in 2003 NFL season and 2005, respectively.

Jim Brown holds the record for most league-leading seasons in rushing touchdowns, with 5 (1957, 1958, 1959, 1963, and 1965).[3] Dutch Clark became the first player to lead the league in consecutive seasons (1936 and 1937), although in 1937 he co-led the league. The first sole rushing touchdowns leader in consecutive seasons was Johnny Drake, when he led in 1939 and 1940. Steve Van Buren was the first to lead the league in 3 consecutive seasons, from 1947 to 1949, a figure later matched by Jim Brown (1957 to 1959) and Leroy Kelly (1966 to 1968). Marcus Allen is the only player in NFL history to lead the league in rushing touchdowns while playing with 2 different teams; in 1982, Allen led the league while playing with the Oakland Raiders, and in 1993, he led the league while playing with the Kansas City Chiefs.

In 1943, Bill Paschal became the first NFL player to post a 10+ rushing touchdowns season, when playing for the New York Giants. 40 seasons later, in 1983, John Riggins posted the league's first 20+ rushing touchdowns season. Steve Van Buren was the first player to lead the league with consecutive 10+ rushing touchdowns seasons, in 1947 and 1948; he would add a third consecutive in 1949. Emmitt Smith posted the first consecutive league-leading 20+ rushing touchdowns seasons in 1994 and 1995–an achievement later matched by Priest Holmes, in 2003 and 2004.[4]

List

The following is the season-by-season listing:[1]

In 1965, Jim Brown led the league in rushing touchdowns for a fifth time, an NFL record
Marcus Allen, league leader in 1982 and 1993 the only player to lead the league in rushing touchdowns with 2 different teams
John Riggins led the league in 1983 with the first 20+ rushing touchdown season
Derrick Henry lead the league in back-to-back seasons in 2019 and 2020, the most recent back to do so
Set record*
Year Player TDs Team
1932 Bronko Nagurski 4 Chicago Bears
1933 Glenn Presnell 6 Portsmouth Spartans
1934 Dutch Clark
Beattie Feathers
8 Detroit Lions
Chicago Bears
1935 Ernie Caddel 6 Detroit Lions
1936 Dutch Clark 7
1937 Cliff Battles
Dutch Clark
Clarke Hinkle
5 Washington Redskins
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
1938 Andy Farkas 6 Washington Redskins
1939 Johnny Drake 9 Cleveland Rams
1940 9
1941 Hugh Gallarneau 8 Chicago Bears
1942 Gary Famiglietti 8
1943 Bill Paschal 10 New York Giants
1944 9
1945 Steve Van Buren 15 Philadelphia Eagles
1946 Ted Fritsch 9 Green Bay Packers
1947 Steve Van Buren 13 Philadelphia Eagles
1948 10
1949 11
1950 Johnny Lujack 11 Chicago Bears
1951 Rob Goode 9 Washington Redskins
1952 Dan Towler 10 Los Angeles Rams
1953 Joe Perry 10 San Francisco 49ers
1954 Dan Towler 11 Los Angeles Rams
1955 Alan Ameche 9 Baltimore Colts
1956 Rick Casares 12 Chicago Bears
1957 Jim Brown 9 Cleveland Browns
1958 17*
1959 14
1960 Paul Hornung 13 Green Bay Packers
1961 Jim Taylor 15
1962 19*
1963 Jim Brown 12 Cleveland Browns
1964 Lenny Moore 16 Baltimore Colts
1965 Jim Brown 17 Cleveland Browns
1966 Leroy Kelly 15
1967 11
1968 16
1969 Tom Matte 11 Baltimore Colts
1970 MacArthur Lane 11 St. Louis Cardinals
1971 Duane Thomas 11 Dallas Cowboys
1972 Mercury Morris 12 Miami Dolphins
1973 Floyd Little
O. J. Simpson
12 Denver Broncos
Buffalo Bills
1974 Tom Sullivan 11 Philadelphia Eagles
1975 Pete Banaszak
O. J. Simpson
16 Oakland Raiders
Buffalo Bills
1976 Franco Harris 14 Pittsburgh Steelers
1977 Walter Payton 14 Chicago Bears
1978 David Sims 14 Seattle Seahawks
1979 Earl Campbell 19* Houston Oilers
1980 Earl Campbell
Billy Sims
13 Houston Oilers
Detroit Lions
1981 Chuck Muncie 19* San Diego Chargers
1982 Marcus Allen 11 Los Angeles Raiders
1983 John Riggins 24* Washington Redskins
1984 Eric Dickerson
John Riggins
14 Los Angeles Rams
Washington Redskins
1985 Joe Morris 21 New York Giants
1986 George Rogers 18 Washington Redskins
1987 Johnny Hector
Charles White
11 New York Jets
Los Angeles Rams
1988 Greg Bell 16 Los Angeles Rams
1989 15
1990 Derrick Fenner
Cleveland Gary
14 Seattle Seahawks
Los Angeles Rams
1991 Barry Sanders 16 Detroit Lions
1992 Emmitt Smith 18 Dallas Cowboys
1993 Marcus Allen 12 Kansas City Chiefs
1994 Emmitt Smith 21 Dallas Cowboys
1995 25*
1996 Terry Allen 21 Washington Redskins
1997 Karim Abdul-Jabbar
Terrell Davis
15 Miami Dolphins
Denver Broncos
1998 Terrell Davis 21 Denver Broncos
1999 Stephen Davis 17 Washington Redskins
2000 Marshall Faulk 18 St. Louis Rams
2001 Shaun Alexander 14 Seattle Seahawks
2002 Priest Holmes 21 Kansas City Chiefs
2003 27*
2004 LaDainian Tomlinson 17 San Diego Chargers
2005 Shaun Alexander 27* Seattle Seahawks
2006 LaDainian Tomlinson 28* San Diego Chargers
2007 15
2008 DeAngelo Williams 18 Carolina Panthers
2009 Adrian Peterson 18 Minnesota Vikings
2010 Arian Foster 16 Houston Texans
2011 LeSean McCoy 17 Philadelphia Eagles
2012 Arian Foster 15 Houston Texans
2013 Jamaal Charles
Marshawn Lynch
12 Kansas City Chiefs
Seattle Seahawks
2014 Marshawn Lynch
DeMarco Murray
13 Seattle Seahawks
Dallas Cowboys
2015 Devonta Freeman
Jeremy Hill
Adrian Peterson
DeAngelo Williams
11 Atlanta Falcons
Cincinnati Bengals
Minnesota Vikings
Pittsburgh Steelers
2016 LeGarrette Blount 18 New England Patriots
2017 Todd Gurley 13 Los Angeles Rams
2018 17
2019 Derrick Henry
Aaron Jones
16 Tennessee Titans
Green Bay Packers
2020 Derrick Henry 17 Tennessee Titans

Other rushing touchdowns leaders

Year League Player TDs Team
1946 AAFC Len Eshmont
Don Greenwood
John Kimbrough
Spec Sanders
6 San Francisco 49ers
Cleveland Browns
Los Angeles Dons
New York Yankees
1947 AAFC Spec Sanders 18 New York Yankees
1948 AAFC Chet Mutryn
Joe Perry
10 Buffalo Bills
San Francisco 49ers
1949 AAFC Marion Motley
Joe Perry
8 Cleveland Browns
San Francisco 49ers
1960 AFL Abner Haynes 9 Dallas Texans
1961 AFL Abner Haynes
Paul Lowe
9 Dallas Texans
San Diego Chargers
1962 AFL Cookie Gilchrist
Abner Haynes
13 Buffalo Bills
Dallas Texans
1963 AFL Cookie Gilchrist 12 Buffalo Bills
1964 AFL Sid Blanks
Cookie Gilchrist
Daryle Lamonica
6 Houston Oilers
Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
1965 AFL Wray Carlton
Cookie Gilchrist
Paul Lowe
Curtis McClinton
6 Buffalo Bills
Denver Broncos
San Diego Chargers
Kansas City Chiefs
1966 AFL Jim Nance 11 Boston Patriots
1967 AFL Emerson Boozer 10 New York Jets
1968 AFL Paul Robinson 8 Cincinnati Bengals
1969 AFL Jim Kiick 9 Miami Dolphins

See also

List of National Football League career rushing touchdowns leaders

References

  1. "NFL Year-by-Year Rushing Touchdowns Leaders". Pro-Football-Reference. Sports-Reference. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  2. "LaDainian Tomlinson breaks single-season touchdown record". History. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  3. Peticca, Mike (July 29, 2013). "Cleveland Browns' 100 best all-time players: No. 2, Jim Brown (video)". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  4. Dean, Rick (January 5, 2004). "High Priest–KC's Holmes tops pair of NFL charts". The Capital-Journal. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
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