Jahmyr Gibbs leads the NFL with 35 rushing first downs; Josh Allen has 22 as a quarterback

Jahmyr Gibbs leads the NFL in rushing first downs after five weeks of the 2026 regular season. The Detroit Lions running back has moved the chains 35 times on 105 carries, six more than Buffalo’s James Cook and Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson, who are tied at 29.

Gibbs also has 504 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. What separates him is how often he turns a carry into a new set of downs: 33.3% of his rushes have gained a first down, the best rate among running backs with at least 40 carries. Cook is at 30.5% and Robinson at 28.4%.

Rushing first downs leaders after Week 5

Rank	Player	Team	Pos	Rush 1st downs	Att	Yds	1st down %	Yds/att	TD	G
1	Jahmyr Gibbs	DET	RB	35	105	504	33.3%	4.8	7	5
2	Bijan Robinson	ATL	RB	29	102	580	28.4%	5.7	4	5
3	James Cook III	BUF	RB	29	95	532	30.5%	5.6	5	5
4	Derrick Henry	BAL	RB	26	113	476	23.0%	4.2	7	5
5	Kenneth Walker III	KC	RB	25	87	537	28.7%	6.2	4	4
6	Jonathan Taylor	IND	RB	24	101	398	23.8%	3.9	6	5
7	Josh Allen	BUF	QB	22	43	239	51.2%	5.6	8	5
8	Jaylen Warren	PIT	RB	20	70	410	28.6%	5.9	1	5
9	Bhayshul Tuten	JAX	RB	20	82	349	24.4%	4.3	2	5
10	Kyren Williams	LAR	RB	20	70	343	28.6%	4.9	4	5
11	Aaron Jones Sr.	MIN	RB	19	97	410	19.6%	4.2	2	5
12	Javonte Williams	DAL	RB	18	74	276	24.3%	3.7	6	5
13	Omarion Hampton	LAC	RB	18	73	271	24.7%	3.7	3	5
14	Chuba Hubbard	CAR	RB	17	61	306	27.9%	5.0	3	4
15	Cam Skattebo	NYG	RB	17	81	294	21.0%	3.6	1	5

Derrick Henry is fourth with 26 despite leading the league in carries (113). Kenneth Walker has 25 in only four games. Jonathan Taylor has 24. Then the board turns to a quarterback: Josh Allen sits seventh overall with 22 rushing first downs on just 43 carries.

Allen’s 51.2% first-down rate on carries is the highest of any player with at least 40 attempts, running back or quarterback. Eight of his 22 first downs have been touchdowns — he leads the NFL with eight rushing scores.

Jahmyr Gibbs game by game

Week	Opponent	Att-yds	Long
1	New Orleans	29-156 (2 TD)	21
2	at Buffalo	16-52	16
3	NY Jets	20-99 (2 TD)	17
4	at Carolina	15-46 (1 TD)	13
5	at Arizona	25-151 (2 TD)	22

Josh Allen rushing game by game

Week	Opponent	Att-yds	Long
1	at Houston	6-23 (2 TD)	21
2	Detroit	14-69 (2 TD)	14
3	LA Chargers	8-22 (2 TD)	8
4	New England	5-4 (1 TD)	4
5	at LA Rams	10-121 (1 TD)	22

Allen’s biggest rushing day came at the Rams in Week 5: 10 carries for 121 yards and a touchdown, with a long of 22. He also scored twice on the ground in each of the first three weeks.

First-down rate on carries (minimum 40 attempts)

Rank	Player	Team	Pos	Rush 1st downs	Att	Rate	Yds
1	Josh Allen	BUF	QB	22	43	51.2%	239
2	Jahmyr Gibbs	DET	RB	35	105	33.3%	504
3	James Cook III	BUF	RB	29	95	30.5%	532
4	Brian Robinson Jr.	ATL	RB	15	51	29.4%	210
5	Kenneth Walker III	KC	RB	25	87	28.7%	537
6	Jaylen Warren	PIT	RB	20	70	28.6%	410
7	Kyren Williams	LAR	RB	20	70	28.6%	343
8	Bijan Robinson	ATL	RB	29	102	28.4%	580
9	Woody Marks	HOU	RB	12	43	27.9%	149
10	Chuba Hubbard	CAR	RB	17	61	27.9%	306
11	Ollie Gordon II	MIA	RB	13	47	27.7%	236
12	Kyle Monangai	CHI	RB	16	60	26.7%	324

Among the 36 players with at least 40 carries, Allen is alone at the top. Gibbs, Cook, Atlanta’s Brian Robinson Jr. and Walker fill out the next four. Henry converts only 23.0% of his carries into first downs — volume over efficiency.

Quarterbacks with at least eight rushing first downs

Rank	Player	Team	Rush 1st downs	Att	Yds	Rate	Rush TD
1	Josh Allen	BUF	22	43	239	51.2%	8
2	Drake Maye	NE	13	30	161	43.3%	1
3	Deshaun Watson	CLE	12	37	167	32.4%	0
4	Brock Purdy	SF	12	25	128	48.0%	1
5	Jayden Daniels	WSH	10	21	203	47.6%	2
6	Malik Willis	MIA	10	27	186	37.0%	2
7	Jacoby Brissett	ARI	10	17	62	58.8%	1
8	Lamar Jackson	BAL	9	19	144	47.4%	1
9	Joe Burrow	CIN	9	15	48	60.0%	1
10	Daniel Jones	IND	9	14	25	64.3%	1

Drake Maye is next among quarterbacks with 13. Deshaun Watson and Brock Purdy have 12 each. Daniels has 10 rushing first downs on only 21 carries in three games.

Lowest first-down rate (running backs, minimum 60 carries)

Player	Team	Rush 1st downs	Att	Yds	Rate
Jeremiyah Love	ARI	9	67	245	13.4%
Quinshon Judkins	CLE	10	73	221	13.7%
J.K. Dobbins	DEN	9	64	229	14.1%
Ashton Jeanty	LV	13	88	291	14.8%
Chase Brown	CIN	11	71	246	15.5%
Emanuel Wilson	SEA	12	73	251	16.4%

Aaron Jones has 19 first downs on 97 carries (19.6%), the lowest rate among backs with 60 or more attempts. Cam Skattebo (21.0%) and Javonte Williams (24.3%) are also near the bottom of that group.

Gibbs will not add to his total this week — Detroit has its bye in Week 6. Cook and Allen visit Las Vegas on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET (11:25 p.m. Cairo). Robinson hosts Chicago at 1 p.m. ET (8 p.m. Cairo), and Henry’s Ravens are at Cleveland in the same early window.

Rushing first downs are carries that gain a first down. Totals cover every regular-season game through Monday night of Week 5 and do not include Thursday night’s Seahawks-Broncos game.