NFL Kick Return Yards Single Game Leaders (since 1941)
All-Time Kick Return Yards Leaders
Build your own custom leaderboards with Stathead Football.
Single game leaders only reflect years for which we have mostly complete boxscore data (1933 onward).
+ Indicates Hall of Famer, season age in parentheses
View Current Leaderboard
Leaders Table
Rank |
Player |
Yds |
Tm |
Boxscore |
1 | Tyrone Hughes | 304 | NOR | New Orleans Saints vs. Los Angeles Rams, October 23, 1994 |
2 | Ted Ginn Jr. | 299 | MIA | Miami Dolphins vs. New York Jets, November 1, 2009 |
3 | Wally Triplett | 294 | DET | Detroit Lions vs. Los Angeles Rams, October 29, 1950 |
4 | Chris Williams | 288 | CHI | Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers, November 9, 2014 |
5 | Chad Morton | 278 | NYJ | New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills, September 8, 2002 |
6 | Josh Cribbs | 269 | CLE | Cleveland Browns vs. Kansas City Chiefs, December 20, 2009 |
7 | Tony Horne | 267 | STL | St. Louis Rams vs. Kansas City Chiefs, October 22, 2000 |
8 | Jerome Mathis | 266 | HOU | Houston Texans vs. Kansas City Chiefs, November 20, 2005 |
| Jerome Mathis | 266 | HOU | Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts, October 23, 2005 |
10 | Willie Ponder | 259 | NYG | New York Giants vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, December 18, 2004 |
11 | Roell Preston | 256 | GNB | Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings, October 5, 1998 |
12 | Leon Washington | 253 | SEA | Seattle Seahawks vs. San Diego Chargers, September 26, 2010 |
| Derrick Witherspoon | 253 | PHI | Philadelphia Eagles vs. Arizona Cardinals, November 24, 1996 |
14 | Josh Scobey | 252 | ARI | Arizona Cardinals vs. St. Louis Rams, September 28, 2003 |
| Steve Smith Sr. | 252 | CAR | Carolina Panthers vs. St. Louis Rams, November 11, 2001 |
16 | Jon Vaughn | 251 | KAN | Kansas City Chiefs vs. Miami Dolphins, December 12, 1994 |
17 | Ronney Jenkins | 250 | SDG | San Diego Chargers vs. Oakland Raiders, November 18, 2001 |
18 | Devin Hester+ | 249 | CHI | Chicago Bears vs. Minnesota Vikings, September 15, 2013 |
| Tony Smith | 249 | ATL | Atlanta Falcons vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, September 27, 1993 |
20 | Felix Jones | 247 | DAL | Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles, September 15, 2008 |
| Timmy Brown | 247 | PHI | Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys, November 6, 1966 |
22 | Josh Cribbs | 245 | CLE | Cleveland Browns vs. Baltimore Ravens, November 18, 2007 |
23 | Terry Fair | 244 | DET | Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers, September 6, 1998 |
| Noland Smith | 244 | KAN | Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Diego Chargers, October 15, 1967 |
25 | Corey Harris | 243 | BAL | Baltimore Ravens vs. Minnesota Vikings, December 13, 1998 |
26 | Jonathan Carter | 242 | NYJ | New York Jets vs. Indianapolis Colts, November 16, 2003 |
| Vernon Turner | 242 | TAM | Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Minnesota Vikings, October 30, 1994 |
28 | Bobby Jancik | 240 | HOU | Houston Oilers vs. Oakland Raiders, December 22, 1963 |
29 | Josh Cribbs | 237 | CLE | Cleveland Browns vs. Baltimore Ravens, November 2, 2008 |
| Ellis Hobbs | 237 | NWE | New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins, September 21, 2008 |
| Nate Jacquet | 237 | MIN | Minnesota Vikings vs. Philadelphia Eagles, November 11, 2001 |
32 | Dominic Rhodes | 236 | IND | Indianapolis Colts vs. San Diego Chargers, December 26, 2004 |
33 | Nyheim Hines | 235 | BUF | Buffalo Bills vs. New England Patriots, January 8, 2023 |
34 | Andre' Davis | 234 | HOU | Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, December 30, 2007 |
| Dante Hall | 234 | KAN | Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles, October 2, 2005 |
| Bobby Humphery | 234 | NYJ | New York Jets vs. Cincinnati Bengals, December 21, 1986 |
37 | David Reed | 233 | BAL | Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans, December 13, 2010 |
| Pierre Thomas | 233 | NOR | New Orleans Saints vs. St. Louis Rams, November 11, 2007 |
| Jerome Mathis | 233 | HOU | Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts, September 23, 2007 |
| Dante Hall | 233 | KAN | Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Diego Chargers, November 28, 2004 |
41 | J.J. Arrington | 232 | ARI | Arizona Cardinals vs. New York Giants, November 23, 2008 |
| Clifton Smith | 232 | TAM | Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Kansas City Chiefs, November 2, 2008 |
43 | Maurice Morris | 231 | SEA | Seattle Seahawks vs. St. Louis Rams, October 20, 2002 |
44 | Domenik Hixon | 230 | NYG | New York Giants vs. New Orleans Saints, October 18, 2009 |
45 | Derek Stanley | 229 | STL | St. Louis Rams vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, December 20, 2007 |
| Desmond Howard | 229 | DET | Detroit Lions vs. Cincinnati Bengals, October 28, 2001 |
47 | Cordarrelle Patterson | 228 | MIN | Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers, October 27, 2013 |
| Brandon Bennett | 228 | CIN | Cincinnati Bengals vs. Baltimore Ravens, November 10, 2002 |
49 | David Wilson | 227 | NYG | New York Giants vs. New Orleans Saints, December 9, 2012 |
50 | Bethel Johnson | 225 | MIN | Minnesota Vikings vs. St. Louis Rams, December 31, 2006 |
| Devin Hester+ | 225 | CHI | Chicago Bears vs. St. Louis Rams, December 11, 2006 |
| Herb Mul-Key | 225 | WAS | Washington Redskins vs. St. Louis Cardinals, September 23, 1973 |
We're Social...for Statheads
Every Sports Reference Social Media Account
Site Last Updated: Monday, April 22, 2:31PM
Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction?
Subscribe to our Free Email Newsletter
Subscribe to Stathead Football: Get your first month FREE
Your All-Access Ticket to the Pro Football Reference Database
Do you have a sports website? Or write about sports? We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Find out more.