most rushing yards in nfl from 1950 to 2004

Between the 1950 and 2004 seasons, Emmitt Smith had the most rushing yards, with 18,355 yards.

Interpreted as:

most rushing yards by a player in NFL from 1950 to 2004

	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	18,355	226	4,409	4.2	81.2	164	3,224	515	130	6.3	14.3	11
2	Walter Payton W. Payton	16,726	190	3,838	4.4	88.0	110	4,538	492		9.2	23.9	15
3	Barry Sanders B. Sanders	15,269	153	3,062	5.0	99.8	99	2,921	352		8.3	19.1	10
4	Curtis Martin C. Martin	13,366	156	3,298	4.1	85.7	85	3,211	460	379	7.0	20.6	10
5	Jerome Bettis J. Bettis	13,294	180	3,369	3.9	73.9	82	1,409	196	96	7.2	7.8	3
6	Eric Dickerson E. Dickerson	13,259	146	2,996	4.4	90.8	90	2,137	281		7.6	14.6	6
7	Tony Dorsett T. Dorsett	12,739	173	2,936	4.3	73.6	77	3,554	398		8.9	20.5	13
8	Jim Brown J. Brown	12,312	118	2,359	5.2	104.3	106	2,499	262		9.5	21.2	20
9	Marcus Allen M. Allen	12,243	222	3,022	4.1	55.1	123	5,411	587		9.2	24.4	21
10	Franco Harris F. Harris	12,120	173	2,949	4.1	70.1	91	2,287	307		7.4	13.2	9
11	Thurman Thomas T. Thomas	12,074	182	2,877	4.2	66.3	65	4,458	472	29	9.4	24.5	23
12	Marshall Faulk M. Faulk	11,987	160	2,771	4.3	74.9	100	6,584	723	548	9.1	41.2	35
13	John Riggins J. Riggins	11,352	175	2,916	3.9	64.9	104	2,090	250		8.4	11.9	12
14	O.J. Simpson	11,236	135	2,404	4.7	83.2	61	2,142	203		10.6	15.9	14
15	Ricky Watters R. Watters	10,643	144	2,622	4.1	73.9	78	4,248	467	176	9.1	29.5	13
16	Eddie George E. George	10,441	141	2,865	3.6	74.0	68	2,227	268	269	8.3	15.8	10
17	Ottis Anderson O. Anderson	10,273	182	2,562	4.0	56.4	81	3,062	376		8.1	16.8	5
18	Corey Dillon C. Dillon	9,696	122	2,210	4.4	79.5	57	1,585	207	236	7.7	13.0	6
19	Earl Campbell E. Campbell	9,407	115	2,187	4.3	81.8	74	806	121		6.7	7.0	0
20	Terry Allen T. Allen	8,614	130	2,152	4.0	66.3	73	1,601	204	40	7.8	12.3	6
21	Jim Taylor J. Taylor	8,597	129	1,941	4.4	66.6	83	1,756	225		7.8	13.6	10
22	Joe Perry J. Perry	8,378	156	1,737	4.8	53.7	53	1,796	241		7.5	11.5	8
23	Earnest Byner E. Byner	8,261	211	2,095	3.9	39.2	56	4,605	512		9.0	21.8	15
24	Herschel Walker H. Walker	8,225	187	1,954	4.2	44.0	61	4,859	512		9.5	26.0	21
25	Roger Craig R. Craig	8,189	165	1,991	4.1	49.6	56	4,911	566		8.7	29.8	17

Unlock 2x data

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

More Cowboys Stats

Team Leaders

PASS

4,552

Prescott

RUSH

1,201

Williams

REC

1,429

Pickens

Team Rankings

PPG

27.7

7th

OPP PPG

30.1

32nd

RUSH YDS/G

125.6

9th

PASS YDS/G

278.5

1st

2025 Division Standings

TEAM	W	L	T	PCT
Eagles	11	6	0	.647
Cowboys	7	9	1	.441
Commanders	5	12	0	.294
Giants	4	13	0	.235

Last Game

Cowboys

7 - 9 - 1

Final

Giants

4 - 13

Sun 4 Jan 2026

NFL 2025 Leaders

Pass Yards Leaders

4,707

Stafford

4,564

Goff

4,552

Prescott

Rush Yards Leaders

1,621

Cook

1,595

Henry

1,585

Taylor

Rec Yards Leaders

1,793

Smith-Njigba

1,715

Nacua

1,429

Pickens

Pass TD Leaders

46

Stafford

34

Goff

31

Maye

Rush TD Leaders

18

Taylor

16

Henry

14

Allen

Rec TD Leaders

14

Adams

11

McBride

11

St. Brown

QB Rating Leaders

113.5

Maye

109.2

Stafford

105.5

Goff

Sack Leaders

23.0

Garrett

16.5

Burns

15.0

Hunter

NFL 2025 Rankings

PPG Rankings

30.5

28.8

28.4

28.3

27.9

Opp PPG Rankings

17.2

17.4

18.3

18.8

19.1

19.3

Total Yards Rankings

394.6

391.9

379.4

376.3

373.2

369.5

Rush Yards Rankings

159.6

156.6

144.5

134.7

129.1

128.9

Pass Yards Rankings

278.5

276.9

268.6

262.3

256.1

254.0

Sack Leaders

68.0

57.0

53.0

49.0

48.0

NFL Fantasy 2025

Fantasy RB Rankings

316.3

Taylor

314.6

McCaffrey

291.8

Robinson

Fantasy WR Rankings

246

Nacua

240.9

Smith-Njigba

207

St. Brown

Fantasy TE Rankings

189.9

McBride

125.1

Goedert

122.8

Pitts

Fantasy K Rankings

202

Myers

194

Fairbairn

187.6

Aubrey

NFL 2025 Betting

Best Record ATS

15-5

12-6

14-7

12-6-1

12-7

11-7

Worst Record ATS

5-12

5-12-1

6-11

7-10

NFL 2025 Standings

AFC East	W	L	T	PCT
Patriots - y	14	3	0	.824
Bills - w	12	5	0	.706
Dolphins - e	7	10	0	.412
Jets - e	3	14	0	.176
AFC North	W	L	T	PCT
Steelers - y	10	7	0	.588
Ravens - e	8	9	0	.471
Bengals - e	6	11	0	.353
Browns - e	5	12	0	.294
AFC South	W	L	T	PCT
Jaguars - y	13	4	0	.765
Texans - w	12	5	0	.706
Colts - e	8	9	0	.471
Titans - e	3	14	0	.176
AFC West	W	L	T	PCT
Broncos - z*	14	3	0	.824
Chargers - w	11	6	0	.647
Chiefs - e	6	11	0	.353
Raiders - e	3	14	0	.176

NFC East	W	L	T	PCT
Eagles - y	11	6	0	.647
Cowboys - e	7	9	1	.441
Commanders - e	5	12	0	.294
Giants - e	4	13	0	.235
NFC North	W	L	T	PCT
Bears - y	11	6	0	.647
Packers - w	9	7	1	.559
Vikings - e	9	8	0	.529
Lions - e	9	8	0	.529
NFC South	W	L	T	PCT
Panthers - y	8	9	0	.471
Buccaneers - e	8	9	0	.471
Falcons - e	8	9	0	.471
Saints - e	6	11	0	.353
NFC West	W	L	T	PCT
Seahawks - z*	14	3	0	.824
Rams - w	12	5	0	.706
49ers - w	12	5	0	.706
Cardinals - e	3	14	0	.176