Who has scored the most touchdowns in a single NFL game?
Check out which player scored the most touchdowns in a single game.
Image via Star Tribune
NFL has been the most loved sport across North America because it is filled with intense drama in every single play of the game. There is hardly any dull moment in the game unless, of course, both teams are playing their worst football yet and the game ends without any touchdowns scored.
In football, the one thing the offense is designed and trained to do is score touchdowns. Putting the ball in the endzone gives the offense six points which is the maximum a team can score on a single drive. However, scoring touchdowns isn’t limited to just offense. Defense can also score touchdowns if they can intercept the quarterback and run the ball into the endzone. This is called a pick-six.
The more interesting fact is that even special teams have the ability to score touchdowns. They can fake the field goal attempt and run the ball to score those six points. Special teams scoring touchdowns is a rarity in the NFL, but it has happened on various occasions.
There isn’t a limit to how many touchdowns a team can score because, as the saying goes – the more the merrier. Touchdowns are mostly scored by wide receivers, tight ends, or running backs. Sometimes even quarterbacks rush into the endzone to score those points themselves but not on a regular basis. On average, teams score at least three to four touchdowns in every game. There have been players who have scored more than four touchdowns in a game.
So, let’s take a look at which player or players have scored the most touchdowns in a single game!
Related: What is the NFL rookie minimum salary?
The most touchdowns in a single NFL game
The maximum number of touchdowns scored in a single game is six! That’s right. And the shocker is that there have been three players in the history of the NFL to achieve this feat. Let’s take a look at those beasts.
1. Dub Jones, Cleveland Browns
Dub Jones was a running back for the Cleveland Browns between 1948 and 1955. The 1946 second-overall pick scored six touchdowns for the first time in a single game during the 1951 Browns – Bears matchup. Dub Jones rushed for four touchdowns in the endzone and caught two touchdown passes from Browns legend Otto Graham. Cleveland registered an easy 42-21 win over Chicago with Jones scoring all the touchdowns.
2. Gale Sayers, Chicago Bears
Gale Sayers played his entire career for the Chicago Bears as a halfback and return specialist. Sayers joined this exclusive list when the Bears faced the 49ers. The game was won by the Bears 61-20 in which Gale Sayers scored six touchdowns – four rushing, one receiving, and one punt return. Regarded as one of the toughest players to tackle by his peers, Sayers remains the youngest player in NFL history to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame at age 34.
3. Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints
Another running back on this list emphasizes the dominance of these players have in an offense. Everyone remembers this game that took place on Christmas in 2020. Santa Claus came in the form of Alvin Kamara for the Saints fans who went off in the game. One of the best quarterbacks of the game, Drew Brees, wasn’t feeling himself in this game as he threw for zero touchdowns and two interceptions, but Kamara was there to pick up the slack.
Alvin Kamara single-handedly carried the Saints to a 52-33 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. The star running back tied the record for the most touchdowns in a single game with six and set a record for rushing touchdowns with six as all his trips to the endzone were on the ground unlike the two stars before him who matched the tally with receiving touchdowns to their name as well.
Do follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Related: Highest-paid NFL players by position: What are the top 5 highest-paid positions in the NFL?
Related: How long are rookie contracts in the NFL?
Yash Karandekar
(1023 Articles Published)