Over the course of his Hall of Fame career, Steve Young became known as one of the best running quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL, as he retired following the 1999 season second all-time in rushing yards by a signal caller behind only Randall Cunningham.
As the quarterback position has evolved a great deal over the last 25 years since Young’s retirement, four players — Lamar Jackson, Michael Vick, Cam Newton and Russell Wilson — have surpassed Young and Cunningham, but Young still held the all-time record for most rushing yards by a quarterback in the playoffs, with 594 for his career.
That is until this weekend, when not one but two players surpassed him.
First, Jackson entered the weekend with 521 career rushing yards in the playoffs and ran for 81 on Saturday in leading the Baltimore Ravens to a 28-14 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, putting him at 602 for his career.
Then second, Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills entered the weekend with 563 career rushing yards in the playoffs and ran for 46 Sunday in a 31-7 win over the Denver Broncos, putting him at 609 for his career.
With both Jackson and Allen being just 28 years old and on contending teams, it stands to reason that they’ll both amass plenty more playoff rushing yards in their respective careers.
Elsewhere, Wilson (currently of the Pittsburgh Steelers) is 61 yards behind Young, while Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs is 70 yards behind Young.
For total career rushing yards by a quarterback, Allen is just 97 yards behind Young’s total of 4,239. Aaron Rodgers of the New York Jets is the next active player behind Young at 3,573, though Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles is the next reasonable contender to surpass him, as he entered the weekend with 3,133 career rushing yards and is just 26 years old.