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The point of football is to score touchdowns and limit the opponent from scoring.
But there are myriad ways to score touchdowns, as the many markets at best NFL betting sites will have you know. There’s the always-popular touchdown pass. There are touchdown runs or turnovers for touchdowns. You can even return a kick or punt for a TD.
These guys just happen to be the best at scoring touchdowns in NFL history.
Here’s a look at the NFL touchdown leaders.
Who Has the Most Touchdowns Ever?
This accolade belongs to Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice. Rice scored 207 touchdowns — 197 receiving TDs and 10 rushing scores. This was over his 20-season NFL career, split between the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks.
Rice even threw for a touchdown to Steve Young in San Francisco’s season opener against the New Orleans Saints in 1995.
Trailing Rice is Emmitt Smith, who had 175 career touchdowns, LaDainian Tomlinson (162) and Randy Moss (157).
Rice’s former 49ers teammate Terrell Owens rounds out the top-5 with 156 career touchdowns over his Hall of Fame career.
Who Has the Most Touchdowns in a Season?
LaDainian Tomlinson set the mark for touchdowns in a season when he scored 31 for the San Diego Chargers in 2006.
Tomlinson had an NFL-record 28 rushing touchdowns in that season and added three more receiving scores, breaking Shaun Alexander’s mark of 28 touchdowns which had been set the season before.
Randy Moss boasts the most receiving touchdowns in a single season.
The Hall of Fame wide receiver caught 23 touchdown passes as a member of the 2007 New England Patriots too break Rice’s then-20-year-old record.
Then, added one for good measure in the Pats’ 17-14 loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.
Who Leads the NFL in Career Touchdown Passes?
That mark, of course, belongs to Tom Brady. The seven-time Super Bowl champ. In fact his dominance even led fans ask ‘is the NFL rigged?‘.
The all-time great won six with the Patriots and another with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, throwing an incredible 649 touchdowns over his 23-season NFL career.
The modern NFL has evolved to a pass-heavy game, which is why each of the top-six QBs in career touchdown passes played in the 2000s.
Trailing Brady is Drew Brees, who put up 571 TDs in his legendary career split between the Chargers and New Orleans Saints.
After Brees is Hall of Famers Peyton Manning (539) and Brett Favre (508), and Aaron Rodgers is both the active leader and No. 5 on the all-time list at 475 passing touchdowns and counting
Who Leads the NFL in Touchdown Passes in a Single Season?
That of course belongs to Peyton Manning, one of the richest NFL players, who threw 55 touchdowns for the Denver Broncos in 2013.
Manning and Brady traded the top spot on the all-time, single-season list over a 10-year span.
Manning broke Dan Marino’s long-standing record of 48 TDs when he threw for 49 touchdowns as a member of the Indianapolis Colts in 2004.
Then Brady became the first quarterback to hit the 50-touchdown figure when he did so in 2007 in the Patriots’ legendary unbeaten 16-0 campaign.
But, Manning retook the lead with an incomprehensible passing season for the Broncos en route to the Super Bowl.
He, Brady and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes are the only players to top 50 TDs — Mahomes threw 50 touchdowns in 2019.
Ironically, no quarterback who has thrown 50-plus regular-season touchdowns has ever won the Super Bowl in the same season.
The most regular-season TDs by an eventual Super Bowl champion is 41, set by Kurt Warner and Matthew Stafford of the Rams in 1999 and 2021 and Mahomes in 2022.
Most Special Teams TDs
Those of a certain age may remember Devin Hester’s dominance as a kick and punt returner, and the Chicago Bears star returner boasts the record for most special-teams scores in NFL history with 20.
Hester has the most punt returns for touchdowns in NFL history (14). He threw in five regular-season kick returns — not including his 92-yard opening-kickoff TD that started Super Bowl XLI with a bang, which was his only postseason TD.
Hester also added a 108-yard missed-field-goal return against the New York Giants in 2006.
The active leader for special-teams touchdowns belongs to Cordarrelle Patterson, with 9.
He also boasts the most kickoff return touchdowns in NFL history with those nine career kickoff returns.
Full List of NFL Touchdown Leaders
You’ll find the full top fives of every type of touchdown below. Some legendary names miss out, often due to the era they played in. While other inclusions you might be shocked about.
Most Career Touchdowns
| Rank | Name | Career Touchdowns | Position | Years Active |
| 1 | Jerry Rice | 207 | WR | 1985-04 |
| 2 | Emmitt Smith | 175 | RB | 1990-04 |
| 3 | LaDainian Tomlinson | 162 | RB | 2001-11 |
| 4 | Randy Moss | 157 | WR | 1998-12 |
| 5 | Terrell Owens | 156 | WR | 1996-10 |
Most Touchdowns in a Single Season
| Rank | Name | Touchdowns | Year | Team |
| 1 | LaDainian Tomlinson | 31 | 2006 | San Diego Chargers |
| 2 | Shaun Alexander | 28 | 2005 | Seattle Seahawks |
| 3 | Priest Holmes | 27 | 2003 | Kansas City Chiefs |
| 4 | Marshall Faulk | 26 | 2000 | St. Louis Rams |
| 5 | Emmitt Smith | 25 | 1995 | Dallas Cowboys |
Most Passing Touchdowns in a Career
| Rank | Name | Career Passing Touchdowns | Years Active |
| 1 | Tom Brady | 649 | 2000-22 |
| 2 | Drew Brees | 571 | 2001-20 |
| 3 | Peyton Manning | 539 | 1998-15 |
| 4 | Brett Favre | 508 | 1991-10 |
| 5 | Aaron Rodgers | 475 | 2005-present |
Most Passing Touchdowns in a Single Season
| Rank | Name | Number of Passing Touchdowns | Team | Year |
| 1 | Peyton Manning | 55 | Denver Broncos | 2013 |
| 2 | Patrick Mahomes | 50 | Kansas City Chiefs | 2018 |
| 3 | Tom Brady | 50 | New England Patriots | 2007 |
| 4 | Peyton Manning | 49 | Indianapolis Colts | 2004 |
| 5 | Aaron Rodgers | 48 | Green Bay Packers | 2020 |
| 6 | Dan Marino | 48 | Miami Dolphins | 1984 |
Most Rushing Touchdowns in a Single Season
| Rank | Name | Rushing Touchdowns in a Single Season | Team | Year |
| 1 | LaDainian Tomlinson | 28 | San Diego Chargers | 2006 |
| 2 | Shaun Alexander | 27 | Seattle Seahawks | 2005 |
| 3 | Priest Holmes | 27 | Kansas City Chiefs | 2003 |
| 4 | Emmitt Smith | 25 | Dallas Cowboys | 1995 |
| 5 | John Riggins | 24 | Washington | 1983 |
Most Receiving Touchdowns in a Career
| Rank | Name | Career Receiving Touchdowns | Years Active |
| 1 | Jerry Rice | 197 | 1985-04 |
| 2 | Randy Moss | 156 | 1998-12 |
| 3 | Terrell Owens | 153 | 1996-10 |
| 4 | Cris Carter | 130 | 1987-02 |
| 5 | Marvin Harrison | 128 | 1996-08 |
Most Receiving Touchdowns in a Single Season
| Rank | Name | Receiving Touchdowns in a Season | Team | Year |
| 1 | Randy Moss | 23 | New England Patriots | 2007 |
| 2 | Jerry Rice | 22 | San Francisco 49ers | 1987 |
| 3 | Davante Adams | 18 | Green Bay Packers | 2020 |
| 4 | Mark Clayton | 18 | Miami Dolphins | 1984 |
| 5 | Sterling Sharpe | 18 | Green Bay Packers | 1994 |
References
- https://www.statmuse.com/nfl (Stat Muse)
