nfl running back most rushing yards ever, combine regular season and playoffs

Emmitt Smith has rushed for the most career 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 Walter Payton
W. Payton
17,358
199
4,018
4.3
87.2
112
4,716
514
9.2
23.7
15
3 Frank Gore
F. Gore
16,668
250
3,883
4.3
66.7
86
4,152
502
719
8.3
16.6
18
4 Barry Sanders
B. Sanders
15,655
159
3,153
5.0
98.5
100
3,032
373
8.1
19.1
10
5 Adrian Peterson
A. Peterson
15,330
189
3,346
4.6
81.1
125
2,528
311
433
8.1
13.4
6
6 Curtis Martin
C. Martin
14,896
178
3,700
4.0
83.7
98
3,634
521
431
7.0
20.4
10
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 Tony Dorsett
T. Dorsett
14,122
190
3,238
4.4
74.3
86
3,957
444
8.9
20.8
14
10 Eric Dickerson
E. Dickerson
13,983
153
3,144
4.4
91.4
93
2,228
300
7.4
14.6
7
11 Franco Harris
F. Harris
13,676
192
3,349
4.1
71.2
107
2,791
358
7.8
14.5
10
12 Marcus Allen
M. Allen
13,590
238
3,289
4.1
57.1
134
5,941
640
9.3
25.0
23
13 Thurman Thomas
T. Thomas
13,516
203
3,216
4.2
66.6
81
5,130
548
29
9.4
25.3
28
14 Edgerrin James
E. James
13,098
161
3,246
4.0
81.4
86
3,648
468
637
7.8
22.7
11
15 Marshall Faulk
M. Faulk
12,881
188
3,001
4.3
68.5
106
7,394
819
663
9.0
39.3
38
16 Derrick Henry
D. Henry
12,709
149
2,602
4.9
85.3
116
1,775
191
245
9.3
11.9
5
17 Jim Brown
J. Brown
12,553
122
2,425
5.2
102.9
107
2,598
270
9.6
21.3
20
18 John Riggins
J. Riggins
12,348
184
3,167
3.9
67.1
116
2,135
256
8.3
11.6
12
19 Fred Taylor
F. Taylor
12,308
161
2,663
4.6
76.4
69
2,454
297
357
8.3
15.2
9
20 Corey Dillon
C. Dillon
11,749
158
2,738
4.3
74.4
86
1,987
256
292
7.8
12.6
7
21 Steven Jackson
S. Jackson
11,530
164
2,793
4.1
70.3
70
3,688
465
633
7.9
22.5
9
22 Warrick Dunn
W. Dunn
11,496
191
2,805
4.1
60.2
52
4,609
548
641
8.4
24.1
15
23 Marshawn Lynch
M. Lynch
11,383
162
2,664
4.3
70.3
97
2,366
301
413
7.9
14.6
9
24 LeSean McCoy
L. McCoy
11,324
177
2,514
4.5
64.0
74
4,002
533
687
7.5
22.6
16
25 Ricky Watters
R. Watters
11,309
155
2,797
4.0
73.0
86
4,699
508
179
9.3
30.3
17
StatMuse has season-level data for rushing yards going back to the 1932 season.

More Cowboys Stats

Team Rankings

PPG

28.5

5th

OPP PPG

33.0

31st

RUSH YDS/G

123.0

12th

PASS YDS/G

290.0

1st

2025 Division Standings
TEAM W L T PCT
Eagles Eagles
4
0
0
1.000
Commanders Commanders
2
2
0
.500
Cowboys Cowboys
1
2
1
.375
Giants Giants
1
3
0
.250
Schedule
DATE MATCHUP TIME (ET)
Sun
10/5
DAL DAL
@
NYJ NYJ
1:00 PM
Sun
10/12
DAL DAL
@
CAR CAR
1:00 PM
Sun
10/19
WAS WAS
@
DAL DAL
4:25 PM
Sun
10/26
DAL DAL
@
DEN DEN
4:25 PM
Mon
11/3
ARI ARI
@
DAL DAL
8:15 PM
Last Game
DAL Cowboys

1 - 2 - 1

40

Final

40

GB Packers

2 - 1 - 1

Sun 28 Sep 2025

NFL 2025 Leaders

NFL 2025 Rankings

NFL Fantasy 2025

NFL 2025 Betting

NFL 2025 Division Standings

NFC East W L T PCT
Eagles Eagles
4
0
0
1.000
Commanders Commanders
2
2
0
.500
NFC North W L T PCT
Lions Lions
3
1
0
.750
Packers Packers
2
1
1
.625
NFC South W L T PCT
Buccaneers Buccaneers
3
1
0
.750
Falcons Falcons
2
2
0
.500
NFC West W L T PCT
49ers 49ers
3
1
0
.750
Seahawks Seahawks
3
1
0
.750
AFC East W L T PCT
Bills Bills
4
0
0
1.000
Patriots Patriots
2
2
0
.500
AFC North W L T PCT
Steelers Steelers
3
1
0
.750
Bengals Bengals
2
2
0
.500
AFC South W L T PCT
Colts Colts
3
1
0
.750
Jaguars Jaguars
3
1
0
.750
AFC West W L T PCT
Chargers Chargers
3
1
0
.750
Chiefs Chiefs
2
2
0
.500

NFL 2025 Scores & Schedule

Scores

DATE MATCHUP SCORE
Wed
9/3
DAL DAL
@
PHI PHI
20-24
Thu
9/4
KC KC
@
LAC LAC
21-27
Sat
9/6
PIT PIT
@
NYJ NYJ
34-32
Sat
9/6
TB TB
@
ATL ATL
23-20
Sat
9/6
LV LV
@
NE NE
20-13

Schedule

DATE MATCHUP TIME (ET)
Thu
10/2
SF SF
@
LAR LAR
8:15 PM
Sun
10/5
MIN MIN
@
CLE CLE
9:30 AM
Sun
10/5
HOU HOU
@
BAL BAL
1:00 PM
Sun
10/5
NYG NYG
@
NO NO
1:00 PM
Sun
10/5
DEN DEN
@
PHI PHI
1:00 PM