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Rushing touchdowns vs. rushing yards: who scored most per yard
Rushing yards and rushing touchdowns are related, but not as closely as most players assume. Dividing one by the other shows which running backs scored often and which ones moved the ball without reaching the end zone as much.
| Running back | Rush yards | Rush TD | Yards per TD | Yards rank | TD rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LaDainian Tomlinson | 13,684 | 145 | 94.4 | 6th | 2nd |
| Marcus Allen | 12,243 | 123 | 99.5 | 12th | 3rd |
| Emmitt Smith | 18,355 | 164 | 111.9 | 1st | 1st |
| Marshall Faulk | 12,279 | 100 | 122.8 | 10th | 6th |
| Adrian Peterson | 14,918 | 120 | 124.3 | 4th | 4th |
| Eric Dickerson | 13,259 | 90 | 147.3 | 8th | 9th |
| Jerome Bettis | 13,662 | 91 | 150.1 | 7th | 8th |
| Walter Payton | 16,726 | 110 | 152.1 | 2nd | 5th |
| Edgerrin James | 12,246 | 80 | 153.1 | 11th | 11th |
| Barry Sanders | 15,269 | 99 | 154.2 | 3rd | 7th |
| Curtis Martin | 14,101 | 90 | 156.7 | 5th | 9th |
| Tony Dorsett | 12,739 | 77 | 165.4 | 9th | 12th |
| Steven Jackson | 11,438 | 69 | 165.8 | 15th | 13th |
| Fred Taylor | 11,695 | 66 | 177.2 | 14th | 14th |
| Thurman Thomas | 12,074 | 65 | 185.8 | 13th | 15th |
A lower number in the “Yards per TD” column means the back scored more often for his yardage.
The goal-line backs
LaDainian Tomlinson scored a rushing touchdown every 94.4 yards, the best rate on the ladder. His 145 rushing touchdowns are second to Emmitt Smith (164) even though he is only sixth in rushing yards (13,684). Marcus Allen is next at 99.5 yards per touchdown, and his 123 touchdowns are third highest despite ranking 12th in rushing yards.
The yardage backs
Thurman Thomas needed 185.8 yards for each rushing touchdown, the highest on the ladder, and his 65 touchdowns are the fewest on the ladder. Fred Taylor (177.2), Steven Jackson (165.8) and Tony Dorsett (165.4) also converted fewer yards into scores. Barry Sanders is third in rushing yards (15,269) but only seventh in rushing touchdowns (99).
Why the gap exists
Several things can pull touchdowns away from yards: how much goal-line work a back got compared with a teammate, how often his team threw near the goal line, and how many of his yards came on long runs. None of these shows up in a career total, so treat yards and touchdowns as separate questions.
What to do in a matchup
- If two backs are close in yardage, pick the one with the lower yards-per-touchdown figure for a touchdowns question.
- If one back is far ahead in yardage (15,000 against 12,000), he usually has more touchdowns too. The exceptions are backs like Tomlinson, Allen and even Faulk, who scored far more than their yardage suggests.
- Emmitt Smith leads both categories and is a safe pick in either.
The full table is on the running backs stats page. Then play a round.