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Touchdowns in the NFL are a spectacle to behold. While every touchdown is worth the same amount of points, some are scored in absolutely breathtaking style, from crazy catches to insane runs. There have only been so many crazy long-distance touchdowns in history though, which is why in this article, we’ll outline five of the longest touchdowns in NFL history (excluding the thirteen (13) 99+ passing TDs), highlighting how they all came about.
Starting the list of longest touchdowns of all time are two separate instances where a player scored a 99-yard rushing TD. The two players credited with a full-field touchdown run are Tony Dorsett of the Dallas Cowboys (1982) and then-Titan Derrick Henry (2018). While it’s much easier to achieve a 99+ yard touchdown from a long-distance pass, Dorsett and Henry are a rare occurrence of the only two players in NFL history to run for a 99-yard touchdown, taking the handoff literally from one end zone to another.
One of the oddest decisions that turned out with a positive result was a legendary run made by Robert Bailey of the Detroit Lions. When the ball bounced off the turf in the end zone from a full-field Saints punt, all Saints defensive players switched off as if the play is dead, all while Robert Bailey realized the ball never fully came to a stop, nor was it touched by an opposing player. So, Bailey scooped up a bouncing ball in his end zone while the Saints players appeared to think the play was over, allowing him to run the full field and return the ball for a 103-yard touchdown. The play was ruled a valid touchdown, and while moments like this are extremely rare, Bailey still managed to read the play perfectly and commit to one of the longest-distance touchdowns of all time.
Both Jack Tatum of the 1972 Oakland Raiders and Aeneas Williams of the 2000 Arizona Cardinals would achieve the longest-distance fumble returns ever in the NFL, with a total coverage of 104 yards. Tatum’s instance would occur off a fumbled lateral pass that rolled into his end zone, before scooping it up on the far left sideline and sprinting to the other end zone with no pressure. Similar to Tatum’s 104-yard fumble return was Aeneas Williams scooping up a fumble off a drive into his end zone, causing him to sweep up the ball quickly and run past several defenders before gliding into the end zone and setting a record for the longest fumble return in history..
Tied for the longest recorded touchdown in the NFL of all time is Cordarelle Patterson, who at the time played for the Minnesota Vikings, with the longest kickoff return touchdown scored ever. When it comes to running the full length of the field (120 yards from end zone to end zone), there may never be a farther one than this, considering Patterson was basically on the end line of his end zone when he started his run. Who knows what made Patterson decide to run instead of taking a knee, but regardless, his decision proved worthy as he glided past the entire Packers defense right through the middle. To this day, Patterson holds the record for the longest kickoff return in the NFL, and it was a truly impressive run at that.
Much like Patterson, both Antonio Cromartie of the San Diego Chargers (2007) and Jamal Agnew of the Jacksonville Jaguars would achieve 109-yard touchdowns, but instead of it being off a kick return, these two would run full field off a missed field goal from the other team!
Cromartie in a 2007 game against the Vikings would stand directly under the field-goal posts during an attempt in the dying seconds of the first half, to which he caught a failed 58-yard field goal kick and proceeded to cross the entire field to score a touchdown. Similar to that was Jamal Agnew’s recent 2021 run, who’d return a 68-yard field-goal attempt, standing in the same area as Cromartie, only to run right through a charging Cardinals team. To this day, both Cromartie and Agnew hold the NFL record for the longest missed field-goal return of 109 total run yards.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.