The 10 NFL Quarterbacks With the Most Rushing Yards in a Game

Justin Fields is on record for having the most rushing yards by a quarterback in an NFL game — a regular-season game, that is.

Fields owns the record only because the NFL doesn’t include playoff games for individual statistics. Separate playoff records obviously exist, and it’s worth noting that Colin Kaepernick rushed for 181 yards for the San Francisco 49ers in a postseason matchup against the Green Bay Packers on January 12, 2013.

So, if the two were lumped together, that would be the No. 1 entry on this list. But because we’re only including the regular season here, it’s not. But Kaepernick does still make an appearance, just not for that particular performance.

Fields set the record in a game against the Miami Dolphins in November 2022 when he rushed for 178 yards for the Chicago Bears, breaking the nearly 20-year-old mark set by former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick in 2002.

Fields and Vick actually account for half of this list, which is simply remarkable. Here are the top 10 rushing performances by an NFL quarterback in a single regular-season game.

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1 Justin Fields (178)

Justin Fields had a strong passing game and a record-setting running game in a loss to the Miami Dolphins

Fields did all he could do against the Dolphins on November 6, 2022. The Bears quarterback threw three touchdown passes and broke Vick’s single-game rushing mark by a quarterback with 178 yards. But it still wasn’t enough, as Miami outslugged Chicago by a score of 35-32.

Fields had a third-quarter scoring run of 61 yards to get the Bears within three points at 28-25, but the teams traded touchdowns in the final 20 minutes as the Dolphins held on for the win. The Ohio State alum only ran the ball 15 times, averaging an astonishing 11.9 yards per carry. But his mind wasn’t on the record books after the game.

“I think I’m just growing, getting better each and every week,” Fields said, per NFL.com. “My main goal right now is just to continue to do that. Continue to trend up and each and every day at practice get better and better. That’s really all you can do.”

Fields finished the season with 1,143 rushing yards and led the league in yards per carry, averaging 7.1.

2 Michael Vick (173)

Michael Vick set a new mark in 2002 that lasted nearly 20 years

Vick was certainly considered the best running quarterback of his time. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft by the Falcons, the Virginia Tech alum took over as the team’s full-time starter in his second season.

Vick couldn’t get much done through the air against the Minnesota Vikings on December 1, 2002, so he did what he did best — run.

The elusive Vick ran the ball 10 times, finishing with 173 yards, and his 46-yard run in overtime sealed Atlanta’s 30-24 victory. His 173 yards on the ground set the record for most rushing yards by a quarterback in a game and also matched his passing yards for the afternoon, as he was 11-for-28 through the air for 173 yards.

Vick finished that season with 777 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.

3 Michael Vick (166)

Michael Vick still made things exciting for the Atlanta Falcons in an ugly loss to the New Orleans Saints

Vick eventually became the first quarterback in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, accomplishing the feat in 2006, tallying 1,039 yards on the ground. So, it’s no surprise he holds two of the top three spots on this list. One of the best running quarterbacks in NFL history, Vick could always turn to his explosive ground game to try and shake things up offensively.

That record was boosted by his performance against the New Orleans Saints on November 26, 2006, as he carried the ball just 12 times for 166 yards in an ugly 31-13 loss.

Other than the high rushing total, Vick had a rough day at the office, completing just nine of his 24 passes for 84 yards to record a passer rating of 47.9. His counterpart that afternoon was Drew Brees, who finished with a rating of 131.1 after completing 21 of 30 passes for 349 yards and two touchdowns.

Vick finished that 2006 season with 1,039 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

4 Jalen Hurts (157)

Jalen Hurts let his legs do the talking in a November 2022 win over the Green Bay Packers

Although Jalen Hurts threw two touchdown passes in a wild 40-34 victory over the Green Bay Packers on November 27, 2022, the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback ended the game with more rushing yardage than passing yards.

Hurts was effective in the passing game, completing 16 of his 28 passes for 153 yards, but his running game was far more impressive.

Hurts rushed 17 times for 157 yards in the victory. Although he didn’t have any rushing touchdowns, he did have a run that went for 42 yards as the Eagles improved their record to 10-1. Hurts ran for 760 yards in 15 games that season.

5 Lamar Jackson (152)

Lamar Jackson is the only quarterback to have rushed for more than 1,000 yards in a season more than once

Arguably the greatest running quarterback in the NFL today, Lamar Jackson is the only QB to have rushed for 1,000 yards in a season more than once.

A two-time NFL MVP, Jackson guided the Baltimore Ravens to a 23-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on October 13, 2019, with one of the greatest rushing performances of his young career. Jackson carried the ball 19 times for 152 yards in the victory, including a 21-yard touchdown run in the opening quarter.

His strong passing game (21-for-33, 236 yards) kept the Bengals defense honest enough to where he could scramble his way to his 152-yard day. Jackson’s big day on the ground led to his career-high rushing total of 1,206 yards. He followed that with 1,005 rushing yards in the 2020 season.

Jackson earned the first of his two MVPs in 2019 after averaging a league-high 6.9 yards per carry.

6 Colin Kaepernick (151)

Colin Kaepernick’s 90-yard touchdown run keyed his big outing against the San Diego Chargers

While Colin Kaepernick’s all-time record of 181 rushing yards by a quarterback doesn’t make this list, his 151-yard output against the San Diego Chargers does.

Kaepernick ran the ball just seven times in a 38-35 loss to the Chargers on December 20, 2014, but finished with 151 rushing yards. He had a 90-yard touchdown run that gave his team a 35-21 lead with 2:26 left in the third quarter, but the Chargers outscored the Niners 17-0 the rest of the way and won the game on a 40-yard field goal by Nick Novak in overtime.

Kaepernick’s 90-yarder that day was his only touchdown run that season. He finished the season with 639 rushing yards, the most he ever had during his six years in the NFL.

7 Tobin Rote (150)

Tobin Rote had a rough passing game, so he made it up with his strong ground game

Tobin Rote had a horrendous day passing against the Chicago Bears on November 18, 1951, but did his best to make up for it with his running game.

Rote, the second-year Green Bay Packers quarterback, completed only 10 of his 33 passes for 88 yards and threw two interceptions in a 24-13 loss. He did, however, set a record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback when he rushed 14 times for 150 yards.

Rote finished the season with a career-high 523 rushing yards. He played seven seasons with the Packers and earned Pro Bowl honors during his final year with the team.

8 Justin Fields (147)

Justin Fields rushed for 325 yards during a two-week stretch in November 2022

Fields is responsible for two of the top eight rushing performances by a quarterback in a single season, and he accomplished them in back-to-back weeks. A week after setting the record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a game with 178, Fields flirted with breaking his own mark.

Against the Detroit Lions on November 13, 2022, Fields racked up 147 yards on the ground in a heartbreaking 31-30 loss. Fields rushed the ball 13 times that day for and scored two touchdowns. His second score was a 67-yard run that put the Bears in front 30-24 with 9:11 remaining.

The Lions scored the game-winning touchdown with 2:21 left to win by one.

9 Charley Trippi (145)

Charley Trippi nearly broke Tobin Rote’s rushing record set one month earlier

Charley Trippi rushed for two touchdowns as his Chicago Cardinals defeated the Chicago Bears 24-14 on December 16, 1951.

Trippi went 9-for-19 as a passer for 106 yards and a touchdown, but he made a run at Rote’s recent record of most rushing yards by a quarterback in a game. A month earlier, as mentioned above, Rote set the new mark of 150.

Trippi ran the ball 13 times for 145 yards, and his 26-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter extended the Cardinals’ lead from 17-14 to 24-14. Earlier, he had an 18-yard run that evened the game at 7-7.

Trippi finished the season with 501 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

10 Michael Vick (141)

Michael Vick came back strong after suffering a fractured fibula during the preseason

It’s long been said that the third time is a charm, right? For Vick, who has three appearances on this list, that’s the case.

On December 7, 2003, Vick ran the ball 14 times for 141 yards and a touchdown as the Falcons outlasted the Carolina Panthers 20-14 in overtime. It was Vick’s one-yard touchdown run with 8:17 remaining that tied the game at 14-14 before the Falcons won the game with an interception return in the extra session.

Vick fractured his fibula during a preseason game in 2003, and the game against the Panthers was his first start of the year. He started four games that year and finished with 255 rushing yards.

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.

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