most regular season rushing yards by a running back including the postseason since 1980

Since 1980, Emmitt Smith has rushed for the most yards by a running back in the regular season and playoffs, with 19,941 yards.

	NAME	RUSH YDS	GP	ATT	YPC	RUSH YDS/G	RUSH TD	REC YDS	REC	TRG	AVG	REC YDS/G	REC TD
1	Emmitt Smith E. Smith	19,941	243	4,758	4.2	82.1	183	3,566	561	132	6.4	14.7	13
2	Frank Gore F. Gore	16,668	250	3,883	4.3	66.7	86	4,152	502	719	8.3	16.6	18
3	Barry Sanders B. Sanders	15,655	159	3,153	5.0	98.5	100	3,032	373		8.1	19.1	10
4	Adrian Peterson A. Peterson	15,330	189	3,346	4.6	81.1	125	2,528	311	433	8.1	13.4	6
5	Curtis Martin C. Martin	14,896	178	3,700	4.0	83.7	98	3,634	521	431	7.0	20.4	10
6	Derrick Henry D. Henry	14,496	167	2,973	4.9	86.8	136	1,951	210	270	9.3	11.7	6
7	Jerome Bettis J. Bettis	14,336	205	3,678	3.9	69.9	100	1,506	208	104	7.2	7.3	3
8	LaDainian Tomlinson L. Tomlinson	14,152	180	3,305	4.3	78.6	151	4,948	649	904	7.6	27.5	18
9	Eric Dickerson E. Dickerson	13,983	153	3,144	4.4	91.4	93	2,228	300		7.4	14.6	7
10	Marcus Allen M. Allen	13,590	238	3,289	4.1	57.1	134	5,941	640		9.3	25.0	23
11	Thurman Thomas T. Thomas	13,516	203	3,216	4.2	66.6	81	5,130	548	29	9.4	25.3	28
12	Edgerrin James E. James	13,098	161	3,246	4.0	81.4	86	3,648	468	637	7.8	22.7	11
13	Marshall Faulk M. Faulk	12,881	188	3,001	4.3	68.5	106	7,394	819	663	9.0	39.3	38
14	Fred Taylor F. Taylor	12,308	161	2,663	4.6	76.4	69	2,454	297	357	8.3	15.2	9
15	Corey Dillon C. Dillon	11,749	158	2,738	4.3	74.4	86	1,987	256	292	7.8	12.6	7
16	Steven Jackson S. Jackson	11,530	164	2,793	4.1	70.3	70	3,688	465	633	7.9	22.5	9
17	Warrick Dunn W. Dunn	11,496	191	2,805	4.1	60.2	52	4,609	548	641	8.4	24.1	15
18	Marshawn Lynch M. Lynch	11,383	162	2,664	4.3	70.3	97	2,366	301	413	7.9	14.6	9
19	LeSean McCoy L. McCoy	11,324	177	2,514	4.5	64.0	74	4,002	533	687	7.5	22.6	16
20	Ricky Watters R. Watters	11,309	155	2,797	4.0	73.0	86	4,699	508	179	9.3	30.3	17
21	Eddie George E. George	11,217	150	3,071	3.7	74.8	73	2,376	291	303	8.2	15.8	10
22	Thomas Jones T. Jones	11,104	188	2,803	4.0	59.1	73	2,113	320	430	6.6	11.2	3
23	Jamal Lewis J. Lewis	11,033	137	2,672	4.1	80.5	62	1,947	231	313	8.4	14.2	4
24	Tiki Barber T. Barber	10,924	161	2,337	4.7	67.9	56	5,379	612	740	8.8	33.4	12
25	Walter Payton W. Payton	10,305	124	2,435	4.2	83.1	51	3,207	352		9.1	25.9	11

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StatMuse has season-level data for rushing yards going back to the 1932 season.

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More Cowboys Stats

Team Leaders

PASS

1,381

Prescott

RUSH

276

Williams

REC

507

Lamb

Team Rankings

PPG

27.6

7th

OPP PPG

27.2

25th

RUSH YDS/G

81.6

30th

PASS YDS/G

276.2

6th

2026 Division Standings

TEAM	W	L	T	PCT
Giants	3	1	1	.700
Eagles	2	3	0	.400
Cowboys	2	3	0	.400
Commanders	1	3	1	.300

Schedule

DATE	MATCHUP			TIME (ET)
Sun 10/18	DAL	@	GB	8:20 PM
Mon 10/26	DAL	@	PHI	8:15 PM
Sun 11/1	ARI	@	DAL	1:00 PM
Sun 11/8	DAL	@	IND	1:00 PM
Sun 11/15	SF	@	DAL	4:25 PM

Last Game

Buccaneers

1 - 4

Final

Cowboys

2 - 3

Thu 8 Oct 2026

NFL 2026 Leaders

Pass Yards Leaders

1,572

Stafford

1,485

Goff

1,408

Love

Rush Yards Leaders

580

Robinson

537

Walker

532

Cook

Rec Yards Leaders

717

Smith-Njigba

537

Olave

507

Lamb

Pass TD Leaders

13

Purdy

12

Goff

12

Cousins

Rush TD Leaders

8

Allen

7

Gibbs

7

Henry

Rec TD Leaders

7

Smith-Njigba

6

Watson

5

St. Brown

QB Rating Leaders

119.6

Jackson

119.3

Purdy

111.3

Goff

Sack Leaders

7.5

Anderson

6.0

Rousseau

5.5

Turner

NFL 2026 Rankings

PPG Rankings

32.8

30.8

30.3

29.5

29.2

Opp PPG Rankings

12.8

14.0

18.6

18.8

19.2

Total Yards Rankings

424.4

412.0

405.8

396.2

394.2

393.8

Rush Yards Rankings

173.2

166.8

164.4

162.3

158.0

139.6

Pass Yards Rankings

317.0

297.0

281.6

280.4

276.2

Sack Leaders

20.0

18.0

17.0

NFL Fantasy 2026

Fantasy RB Rankings

126.7

Gibbs

103.8

Henry

103.2

Robinson

Fantasy WR Rankings

115.9

Smith-Njigba

83.4

Watson

76.1

Lamb

Fantasy TE Rankings

52.4

Likely

50.8

Kittle

49.6

LaPorta

Fantasy K Rankings

75

Shrader

68

Reichard

60

Myers

NFL 2026 Betting

Best Record ATS

4-1

3-1-1

Worst Record ATS

0-4-1

1-4

1-3-1

1-3-2

NFL 2026 Standings

NFC East	W	L	T	PCT
Giants	3	1	1	.700
Eagles	2	3	0	.400
Cowboys	2	3	0	.400
Commanders	1	3	1	.300
NFC North	W	L	T	PCT
Vikings	5	0	0	1.000
Packers	3	2	0	.600
Lions	3	2	0	.600
Bears	3	2	0	.600
NFC South	W	L	T	PCT
Panthers	2	2	0	.500
Falcons	2	3	0	.400
Buccaneers	1	4	0	.200
Saints	1	4	0	.200
NFC West	W	L	T	PCT
49ers	5	0	0	1.000
Seahawks	3	3	0	.500
Rams	2	3	0	.400
Cardinals	1	4	0	.200

AFC East	W	L	T	PCT
Bills	4	1	0	.800
Patriots	3	2	0	.600
Jets	2	3	0	.400
Dolphins	0	5	0	.000
AFC North	W	L	T	PCT
Ravens	4	1	0	.800
Browns	3	2	0	.600
Steelers	3	2	0	.600
Bengals	3	2	0	.600
AFC South	W	L	T	PCT
Jaguars	4	1	0	.800
Colts	2	3	0	.400
Texans	1	4	0	.200
Titans	0	5	0	.000
AFC West	W	L	T	PCT
Chiefs	4	0	0	1.000
Broncos	4	2	0	.667
Raiders	3	2	0	.600
Chargers	0	5	0	.000