Ezekiel Elliott had the most rushing yards by a running back in 2016, with 1,631 yards in his rookie season.
Interpreted as:
best running back by rushing yards in 2016| NAME | RUSH YDS | SEASON | TM | GP | ATT | YPC | RUSH YDS/G | RUSH TD | REC YDS | REC | TRG | AVG | REC YDS/G | REC TD | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | E. Elliott | 1,631 | 2016 |  DAL | 15 | 322 | 5.1 | 108.7 | 15 | 363 | 32 | 40 | 11.3 | 24.2 | 1 |
| 2 |  | J. Howard | 1,313 | 2016 |  CHI | 15 | 252 | 5.2 | 87.5 | 6 | 298 | 29 | 50 | 10.3 | 19.9 | 1 |
| 3 |  | D. Murray | 1,287 | 2016 |  TEN | 16 | 293 | 4.4 | 80.4 | 9 | 377 | 53 | 67 | 7.1 | 23.6 | 3 |
| 4 |  | J. Ajayi | 1,272 | 2016 |  MIA | 15 | 260 | 4.9 | 84.8 | 8 | 151 | 27 | 35 | 5.6 | 10.1 | 0 |
| 5 |  | L. Bell | 1,268 | 2016 |  PIT | 12 | 261 | 4.9 | 105.7 | 7 | 616 | 75 | 94 | 8.2 | 51.3 | 2 |
| 6 |  | L. McCoy | 1,267 | 2016 |  BUF | 15 | 234 | 5.4 | 84.5 | 13 | 356 | 50 | 57 | 7.1 | 23.7 | 1 |
| 7 |  | D. Johnson | 1,239 | 2016 |  ARI | 16 | 293 | 4.2 | 77.4 | 16 | 879 | 80 | 120 | 11.0 | 54.9 | 4 |
| 8 |  | L. Blount | 1,161 | 2016 |  NE | 16 | 299 | 3.9 | 72.6 | 18 | 38 | 7 | 8 | 5.4 | 2.4 | 0 |
| 9 |  | D. Freeman | 1,079 | 2016 |  ATL | 16 | 227 | 4.8 | 67.4 | 11 | 462 | 54 | 65 | 8.6 | 28.9 | 2 |
| 10 |  | L. Miller | 1,073 | 2016 |  HOU | 14 | 268 | 4.0 | 76.6 | 5 | 188 | 31 | 39 | 6.1 | 13.4 | 1 |
| 11 |  | M. Ingram | 1,043 | 2016 |  NO | 16 | 205 | 5.1 | 65.2 | 6 | 319 | 46 | 58 | 6.9 | 19.9 | 4 |
| 12 |  | F. Gore | 1,025 | 2016 |  IND | 16 | 263 | 3.9 | 64.1 | 4 | 277 | 38 | 47 | 7.3 | 17.3 | 4 |
| 13 |  | M. Gordon | 997 | 2016 |  SD | 13 | 254 | 3.9 | 76.7 | 10 | 419 | 41 | 57 | 10.2 | 32.2 | 2 |
| 14 |  | C. Hyde | 988 | 2016 |  SF | 13 | 217 | 4.6 | 76.0 | 6 | 163 | 27 | 33 | 6.0 | 12.5 | 3 |
| 15 |  | I. Crowell | 952 | 2016 |  CLE | 16 | 198 | 4.8 | 59.5 | 7 | 319 | 40 | 53 | 8.0 | 19.9 | 0 |
| 16 | | S. Ware | 921 | 2016 |  KC | 14 | 214 | 4.3 | 65.8 | 3 | 447 | 33 | 42 | 13.5 | 31.9 | 2 |
| 17 |  | T. Gurley | 885 | 2016 |  LA | 16 | 278 | 3.2 | 55.3 | 6 | 327 | 43 | 58 | 7.6 | 20.4 | 0 |
| 18 | | J. Hill | 839 | 2016 |  CIN | 15 | 222 | 3.8 | 55.9 | 9 | 174 | 21 | 27 | 8.3 | 11.6 | 0 |
| 19 | | J. Stewart | 824 | 2016 |  CAR | 13 | 218 | 3.8 | 63.4 | 9 | 60 | 8 | 21 | 7.5 | 4.6 | 0 |
| 20 |  | M. Forte | 813 | 2016 |  NYJ | 14 | 218 | 3.7 | 58.1 | 7 | 263 | 30 | 43 | 8.8 | 18.8 | 1 |
| 21 |  | L. Murray | 788 | 2016 |  OAK | 14 | 195 | 4.0 | 56.3 | 12 | 264 | 33 | 43 | 8.0 | 18.9 | 0 |
| 22 | | T. West | 774 | 2016 |  BAL | 16 | 193 | 4.0 | 48.4 | 5 | 236 | 34 | 45 | 6.9 | 14.8 | 1 |
| 23 | | B. Powell | 722 | 2016 | NYJ | 16 | 131 | 5.5 | 45.1 | 3 | 388 | 58 | 74 | 6.7 | 24.3 | 2 |
| 24 | | R. Kelley | 704 | 2016 |  WAS | 15 | 168 | 4.2 | 46.9 | 6 | 82 | 12 | 18 | 6.8 | 5.5 | 1 |
| 25 | | R. Mathews | 661 | 2016 |  PHI | 13 | 155 | 4.3 | 50.8 | 8 | 115 | 13 | 14 | 8.8 | 8.8 | 1 |
StatMuse has season-level data for rushing yards going back to the 1932 season.
More Cowboys Stats
Team Rankings
PPG
29.2
4th
OPP PPG
30.8
31st
RUSH YDS/G
120.7
13th
PASS YDS/G
268.7
2nd
2025 Division Standings
| TEAM | W | L | T | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eagles | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 |
| Cowboys | 3 | 5 | 1 | .389 |
 Commanders | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 |
 Giants | 2 | 7 | 0 | .222 |
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