Ranking 15 Best Most Rushing Yards by a Quarterback in a Game

It is all too often that we associate a quarterback’s production with how many yards their team has gained by his throwing the ball. We sometimes don’t appreciate the hidden yardage of the talented signal callers who scramble to escape the pocket or just hang on to an RPO and gain those crucial chunks of yardage by using their feet. This article will shed light on the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a game in NFL history.

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This first player is no surprise to the connection of top rushing games of an NFL quarterback, in fact, he has multiple game performances that show up in the top 15 of all-time.

The December 7, 2003 performance by then-Atlanta Falcons signal caller Michael Vick is making the list. Vick carried his team to a thrilling 20-14 OT victory over divisional rival Carolina. The gifted running QB ran up 141 yards, averaging over ten yards per rush and scoring a touchdown. The dual-threat also aired out another 179 yards of offense with his arm. It was a pretty good day for the former Virginia Tech standout, but not his best day as a rushing NFL signal caller.

Another of the elusive Southpaw speedster’s phenomenal showcase games of toting the rock was the 166 yards against the divisional rival New Orleans Saints in 2006.

Vick’s top rushing performance as a pro occurred on Sunday, December 1, 2002. The Falcon QB soared to new personal and League heights when he registered 173 yards on the ground against the Minnesota Vikings’ defense.

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This player and the game might be the most surprising and unheard of on the list. George Taliaferro was the QB of the Baltimore Colts in 1953, and he had a gallant effort on the ground that season. Taliaferro used his quick foot to keep the upstart Colts in the game against a talented Los Angeles Rams squad on November 22 when he rushed for 136 yards in a 13-21 loss.

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Probably the hottest name in running quarterbacks in the NFL right now is the focal point of the Brotherly Shove,

The Philadelphia Eagles playcaller is a dynamic dual threat. Defenses went on high alert when Hurts racked up 157 yards rushing on the Green Bay Packers on November 27, 2022. It was the rare occasion when an NFL starting QB had more yards rushing than he had passed in the game (153). The pack made it close late, but the Eagles prevailed 40-33.

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The young Chicago Bears QB from Ohio State shows up a few times in an NFL quarterback’s top dozen running performances. Amazingly, Fields did it in back-to-back games!

The first happened when the Bears were pitted against the Miami Dolphins on November 6, 2022, and he rushed for 178 yards, including a 61-yard scoring play with his feet. Unfortunately, Chicago dropped this game despite their young quarterback’s great day.

The following week, the Bears tried the offensive recipe again, which included heavy doses of Justin Fields taking the ball himself as the main ingredient. The QB’s 147-yard, two-TD game against the Detroit Lions also had a long TD rush of 67 yards but ended in a disappointing 30-31 loss for the Bears.

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RG3 rewarded the Washington Redskins with risking the second overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft by his rushing numbers in a game played on October 14 of his Rookie year. Griffin amazed the home crowd by gaining 138 yards against the favored Minnesota Vikings for a 38-26 Washington win, which included two TDs on the ground for the former Baylor QB, one which spanned 76 yards to seal the game with only 2:46 remaining in the contest.

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Kap had a great game in 2014 when he rushed for 151 yards against the San Diego Chargers. It ended in a 38-35 loss for San Francisco. However, Kaepernick had a personal record 90-dash to paydirt, putting the Niners up by two scores before the Bolts made a final-quarter comeback. 

The top performer in NFL history is the 181 yards on the ground by the former San Francisco QB Colin Kaepernick during the January 12th, 2013, big stage of the 2012 NFC Divisional Round that pitted the Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers. The Niners’ plan was a well-balanced attack, and it couldn’t have come out any better than Coach Jim Harbaugh and company had planned. Colin scored twice with his legs, including a back-breaking 56-yard scamper to the endzone in the third quarter. Let’s not forget Kaepernick’s 17 completions for an additional 263 yards propelled SF to the 45-31 victory and advancement to the NFL Championship.

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The Baltimore Ravens have built their offense around their very talented quarterback and his talent for running with the ball. Jackson has recorded two of the top fifteen best single-game rushing performances in League history.

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Jackson had one of the more memorable games against the Tennessee Titans on January 11th, 2020, in the AFC Divisional Round of the playoffs, with 143 yards rushing and 365 more yards passing. All those yards did not turn into points, as the Titans won the game 28-12 to advance.

Lamar’s efforts provided much better results in a 2019 game when Jackson’s 152 yards earned on the turf helped the Ravens defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-17 in an AFC North battle. The yardage included a 21-yard touchdown run by the Baltimore quarterback.

Jackson made a top-15 list a third time, also against the Titans in the playoffs in 2021. The Louisville product ripped off 143 yards against Tennessee in the Wild Card Round, and this time, the Ravens defeated the Titans by 20-13 to advance.

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The pre-Super Bowl era NFL is represented on this list by the remarkable performance of Green Bay Packers Quarterback Tobin Rote’s 150 yards gained on the ground in 1951 against the rival Chicago Bears. The true sign of the times on 1950s football was that Rote only threw for 88 yards as the Pack lost the contest 13-24.

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Another NFL game involving the Bears saw an outstanding personal rushing performance by a signal caller. Chicago Cardinals QB Charley Trippi posted 145 yards in the record books as he slashed and dashed through the opposing Bears’ Defense. The Cards triumphed in the game 24-14 on December 16, 1951. Trippi was eventually enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968 for his great work on the gridiron, including this game that showcased his talent.

Conclusion

There you have it, the fifteen top rushing performances by QBs of all time in an NFL game. Were there any surprises for you? It is amazing to see the events spanning over 70 years in NFL history showing that the more the game changes and the athletes improve, the more they stay the same in results.

The talented quarterbacks like Jackson, Hurts, Fields, and others not on this list could see these records fall at any time they take the field, even in the NFL’s pass-happy offenses. Stay tuned and check Pro-Football-Reference often to see who puts up the next big QB rushing number.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 29th, 2023 at 11:56 am and is filed under Top Lists. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.