Which running backs lead in yards after contact on third and short?
James Cook leads all NFL running backs with 92 yards after contact in short-yardage situations and on third down, on 13 carries and 2 rushing touchdowns across 12 games.
NFL Running Back Yards After Contact on Third and Short
Ranked by YAC · 2025 regular season| # | Player | YAC | ATT | YDS | TD | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Cook Buffalo Bills · #4 | 92 | 13 | 69 | 2 | 12 |
| 2 | Josh Jacobs Green Bay Packers · #8 | 84 | 27 | 102 | 3 | 14 |
| 3 | Kyren Williams Los Angeles Rams · #23 | 59 | 22 | 66 | 0 | 16 |
| 4 | Rhamondre Stevenson New England Patriots · #38 | 54 | 11 | 45 | 0 | 14 |
| 5 | Omarion Hampton Los Angeles Chargers · #8 | 51 | 14 | 87 | 0 | 8 |
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Open this in the Stat Explorer →Why this matters
Short-yardage downs strip away scheme and matchup advantages that inflate rushing totals elsewhere. Defenses stack the box knowing a run is likely, so a back's push once a defender makes contact is almost entirely about balance, leg drive and finishing strength rather than a crease created by blocking or an unprepared front.
Volume matters less here than on most rushing splits, since these carries are concentrated and situational rather than spread across a full workload. A back can rank near the top of this list without being his team's primary runner at all, because short-yardage work is often handed to whichever back is built for exactly this job.
The number travels well across matchups precisely because it measures what happens after the blocking is already accounted for. A back who wins this contest against stacked fronts is a safer bet to keep producing against better run defenses than his overall per-carry average alone would suggest.