Move over, Steve Young. With his 13-yard scamper in the second quarter of the Bills’ 24-18 win against the Buccaneers, Josh Allen knotted himself with the Pro Football Hall of Famer for the second-most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in NFL history. The Bills quarterback came into this matchup with 42 career rushing touchdowns, and he now finds himself aligned with Young and only looking up to the all-time leader, former Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.
This score came one drive after the Bills were unable to punch it in with the ball sitting at the 1-yard line. Despite Allen’s nose for the end zone, he didn’t receive a rushing attempt on that drive, but made up for it and then some on the ensuing possession. He dropped back from the Tampa Bay 13-yard line and scrambled up the middle of the field to edge his way through for the touchdown and align himself with Young in the history books.
Young finished his career as the all-time leading touchdown rusher back in 1999 and held that record until Week 1 of the 2016 season when Newton surpassed him. The ex-Panthers quarterback, who last played in the NFL in 2021, created some distance between Young and Allen as he currently has the record set at 75 rushing touchdowns.
While Allen is now 32 rushing scores behind Newton, he is on pace to eventually take down the record. He essentially averages a rushing touchdown every other game, so it’d take him a little under four seasons to tie Newton for the record at his current rate.
When/if Allen does reach Newton, he may be able to hold the record for a bit. Aaron Rodgers is the next active quarterback behind Allen and has just 35 rushing touchdowns over his career. Jalen Hurts could be Allen’s biggest threat to be unseated, as Hurts has 32 career rushing touchdowns so far. Lamar Jackson, who was in the same draft class as Allen, follows him with 29 career rushing touchdowns.
