Running backs have had some incredible performances in NFL history. No one has reached the 300-yard mark yet. The top 35 performances, including ties, feature some superstars and some surprising — one, shocking — names. A couple performances came in leagues that skirted NFL history but deserve mentioning.
Getty Images
32. (Four tied at 228)
A quartet of running backs have reached the number of 228 yards in a single game. They are Beanie Wells, Chris Johnson, Clinton Portis and Ricky Williams.
31. Arian Foster (231)
Arian Foster and the Houston Texans trampled the Colts, 34-24, on Sept. 12, 2010. Foster rushed for three touchdowns and 231 yards on 33 carries. His long run of 42 yards did not wind up in the end zone.
29. Jim Brown, Bobby Mitchell (232)
A pair of Hall of Famers are tied for the 29th spot with 232 yards. The great Jim Brown throttled the Dallas Cowboys in 1963, and Bobby Mitchell ran over Washington as a Cleveland Brown in 1959. Mitchell would later go on to play for Washington.
28. Jamaal Charles (233)
The Kansas City Chiefs outlasted the New Orleans Saints, 27-24, in overtime on Sept. 23, 2012. Much of the KC offense came from Jamaal Charles, who carried the ball 33 times for 233 yards. Charles had a 91-yard TD run in the game. He also caught six passes for 55 more yards.
26. Tiki Barber, Fred Taylor (234)
Tiki Barber of the Giants and Fred Taylor of the Jags are knotted at 234 yards. Taylor’s career-best came against the Steelers in 2002, while Barber had his great day in 2006 against Washington.
25. Doug Martin (235)
Doug Martin has had an up-and-down career, yet he appears twice on this list. On Nov, 22, 2015, Martin rushed for 235 yards on 27 carries in a 45-17 Bucs romp over the Eagles. Martin had an 84-yard run but did not score a touchdown.
24. Le’Veon Bell (236)
Le’Veon Bell set a Pittsburgh Steelers mark against the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 11, 2016. Bell scored the first two TDs in a 27-20 Pittsburgh win. He carried the ball 38 times for 236 yards and caught four passes for another 62.
20. (*Three tied at 237)
Talk about a Terrific Trio. Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith and Jim Brown twice (hence the *) rushed for 237 yards in one game.
19. Derrick Henry (238)
Derrick Henry tied Tony Dorsett’s rushing mark with a 99-yard run to paydirt as the Tennessee Titans waxed the Jacksonville Jaguars in December of 2018. Henry scored four rushing TDs and those accounted for 172 of his 238 yards.
17. LaDainian Tomlinson, Cookie Gilcrhist (243)
Two AFL franchises, though when LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for his 243 yards in 2003 against the Raiders that league was a memory. Forty years earlier, Cookie Gilchrist pounded the Jets with 36 carries for 243 yards and five rushing TDs.
16. Corey Dillon (246)
Corey Dillon makes his first of two appearances on the list. The Bengals’ RB ran for 246 yards in a 41-14 romp of the Tennessee Oilers. Yes, the Tennessee Oilers, in 1997. Dillon scored four TDs and carried the ball 39 times.
15. Willie Ellison (247)
On Dec, 5, 1971, in a 45-28 Rams win over the Saints, Willie Ellison started the scoring with an 80-yard run and kept going. He finished with 26 carries for 247 yards.
14. Eric Dickerson (248)
Willie Ellison’s Rams mark stood for 15 years before the great Eric Dickerson eclipsed it by a yard in LA’s 20-0 playoff win over Dallas. Dickerson carried the ball 34 times and scored two TDs in a game that saw the Rams limit Tony Dorsett to 58 yards on 17 carries.
12. O.J. Simpson, Spec Sanders (250)
O.J. Simpson and Spec Sanders each rushed for 250 yards in a game. Sanders’ came in an AAFC contest in 1947 as the New York Yankees downed the Chicago Rockets, 20-0.
10. Mike Anderson, Doug Martin (251)
Doug Martin is back again as he rushed for 251 yards in Tampa Bay’s 42-32 win over the Raiders in 2012. Meanwhile, Denver’s Mike Anderson ran for four TDs and the same yardage in 2000 when the Broncos downed the Saints.
9. DeMarco Murray (253)
DeMarco Murray holds the Dallas mark with 253 yards in one game. Murray carried the ball 25 times and scored two touchdowns, including a 91-yarder, in a Cowboys win over the St. Louis Rams in 2011.
8. Jamaal Charles (259)
Jamaal Charles capped the scoring in Kansas City’s 44-24 victory over Denver on Jan. 3, 2010. Charles had 25 carries for 259 yards and scored two TDs.
7. Shaun Alexander (266)
Shaun Alexander had some great years in Seattle. His best individual performance came on Nov. 11, 2001, as the Seahawks downed the Raiders, 34-27. Alexander scored three consecutive second-half TDs and carried the ball 35 times.
6. O.J. Simpson (273)
O.J. Simpson had brilliant seasons as a Buffalo Bill. On Thanksgiving in 1976, he rushed for 273 yards against the Detroit Lions. He scored a pair of rushing touchdowns as the Bills fell to the Lions, 27-14.
5. Walter Payton (275)
There were only 17 points scored as the Bears downed the Vikings, 10-7, in November of 1977. That did not prevent Walter Payton from having a career day. “Sweetness” scored Chicago’s only TD and rushed 40 times for 275 yards.
4. Corey Dillon (278)
Corey Dillion is back. The Bengals came in 0-6 but left with a victory over Denver as Dillon erupted for 278 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns in a 31-21 victory in 2000.
3. Jerome Harrison (286)
This is perhaps the biggest one-hit wonder in league history. Cleveland’s Jerome Harrison scored three touchdowns in the second half of the Browns’ 41-34 victory over the Chiefs in 2009. Harrison carried the ball 34 times for 286 yards. Aside from 2009, he never rushed for more than 330 yards in a season.
2. Jamal Lewis (295)
The Ravens’ Jamal Lewis had TD runs of 82 and 63 yards as they pounded the Cleveland Browns, 33-13, on Sept. 14, 2003.
1. Adrian Peterson (296)
Adrian Peterson rushed for more yards on one play than Minnesota starting QB Tarvaris Jackson threw for against the San Diego Chargers in a 35-17 win by the Vikings on Nov. 4, 2007. Peterson set the NFL rushing yardage mark with 296, including a 64-yard run, which was one better than Jackson’s passing effort.
