Former Cincinnati Bengals running back Corey Dillon ranks 19th on the rushing touchdown list with 82. However, his place in history is about to take a hit.
This week, another player has a chance to tie and pass Dillon, supplanting him for the 19th spot.
However, the new name that has recently entered the chat as one of the top 20 in rushing touchdowns in league history is unlike any of the rest in one incredible way.
One of these things is not like the other
Among the top 19 players who have rushed for the most touchdowns in the NFL, all of them are running backs. And only one, Derrick Henry, is still playing.
The Baltimore Ravens running back is in third place with 125 touchdowns. He still has a long way to go to catch Smith’s 164. LaDainian Tomlinson’s 145 sits between the two.
Behind those three is a who’s who of all -time great RBs, including Adrian Peterson, Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, and Franco Harris.
Quickly running past the players near the bottom of the top-20 is surprisingly a QB, not an RB.
Josh Allen crashed the top 20
With his two rushing touchdowns in Buffalo’s dramatic victory over the Texans, Bills quarterback Josh Allen has claimed a share of the 20th-most rushing touchdowns, tying him with Ottis Anderson and Frank Gore with 81.
Allen went right past Edgerrin James’ 80 on Sunday like an insignificant speed bump. Definitely more smoothly than driving over those speed bumps on Colerain Ave.
Allen leads all quarterbacks in rushing touchdowns. The next closest QB is Cam Newton with 75.
The Eagles’ QB, Jalen Hurts, has 63 and counting. And because he averages 10.5 rushing touchdowns per season, there is a chance that Hurts could catch Newton this year.
Meanwhile, Allen averaged 9.8 rushing touchdowns over his first eight seasons in the NFL. However, over the past three seasons, that average has shot up to 13.6. If he adds 11 more TDs to the two he got against the Texans, he will finish alone in 12th place by the end of the season.
Corey Dillon about to ran past
But before he gets to 92, Allen must reach 82, where Corey Dillon resides.
Dillon spent the first seven seasons of his NFL career with the Bengals. And for several of those years, watching him run the ball was consistently one of the very few reasons some of us had to watch Bengals football at Riverfront Stadium, or Cinergy Field.
However, as with Josh Allen, Dillon’s rushing touchdown average jumped from 6.4 to 12.3 in his final three seasons, when he played for the New England Patriots.
Writing that Dillon doubled his touchdown output after he went from Cincinnati to New England makes reminiscing about that time in Bengals history even more depressing.
The Bills play the Lions on the return of Thursday Night Football this week. And after giving up 30 points to the Saints, their defense could be the one that allows Allen to tie or pass Dillon for the 19th spot on the list.
If Allen gets two rushing TDs, not only would he pass Dillon, but he would tie Jim Taylor’s 83.
Either way, Allen will inevitably pass Dillon very soon, even if it isn’t on Thursday. But we will still celebrate Dillon being in the Top 20. That is, until Josh Jacobs (74), Jonathan Taylor (71), or someone else comes along to knock him down a spot.
But Dillon and his fans have some time before that happens.
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