Lamar Jackson has been the gold standard when it comes to gaining rushing yards from the quarterback position since he took over as the Baltimore Ravens' starter. Jackson's video game-like agility and running style has been on full display every time he takes the field, and the record books serve as proof.
But in recent weeks, there's been another quarterback who's taken the league by storm with his legs, taking Jackson's crown as the most electric runner in the NFL: Chicago's Justin Fields.
Don't get me wrong, Jackson is still 1B to Fields' 1A, but right now, the Bears' second-year passer is outdoing even Jackson in the ground game, running over opponents with ease on a weekly basis. Two weeks ago, Fields set an NFL record with 178 rush yards against the Dolphins, the most ever by an NFL quarterback in a regular-season game, and his 61-yard touchdown run was the longest TD run by a Bears quarterback in franchise history. His smirk in reply to Miami coach Mike McDaniel's sideline plea to Fields to stop scrambling pretty much told the story.
Then last week, Fields gashed the Detroit Lions for 147 yards and two touchdowns, including a 67-yard TD run, which bested his record from the week prior. This season, Fields ranks sixth in the NFL with 749 rushing yards (most among QBs).
Yes, he has surpassed some of Jackson's gaudy numbers. Fields' mark of 325 rush yards in a two-game span -- the most by a quarterback in the Super Bowl era -- tops Jackson's 268. His rushing total over a five-game span (555) is even more impressive because he bests the totals of the league's QB rushing royalty in Jackson and Michael Vick. Fields is on pace for 1,273 rushing yards, which would be a single-season record for a quarterback.
When I watch Fields, I see a guy who is running the ball like Lamar was in his first full season as the Ravens' starter (2019). He had to do everything for that offense, and he did it at an MVP level. Fields is being asked to do just as much but on a less talented team. Nonetheless, Fields has made the Bears watchable again with his playmaking ability, and he's become the NFL's most electric rusher.
Top 15 running backs
Former NFL rushing leader and NFL Network analyst Maurice Jones-Drew will survey all running backs and rank his top 15 each week of the 2022 season. His rankings are based on this season's efforts alone. Here is MJD's list heading into Week 11.
NOTE: Arrows reflect changes from last week's rankings.
2022 stats: 9 games | 198 att | 931 rush yds | 4.7 ypc | 6 rush TD | 29 rec | 197 rec yds | 0 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost
Barkley, the NFL leader in rushing yards, had 35 carries in Week 10, the most by a player in a game this season. In the win over Houston, Barkley amassed 152 yards that included a 2-yard touchdown plunge. He was a huge reason the Giants got back in the win column, and with an Eagles loss, the NFC East mountaintop feels within reach.
2022 stats: 9 games | 160 att | 904 rush yds | 5.7 ypc | 11 rush TD | 13 rec | 88 rec yds | 0 rec TD | 1 fumble lost
Chubb's first-quarter fumble in Week 10 changed the trajectory of the game, with the Dolphins marching out to a two-score lead by halftime. He finished with 63 rush yards, with 33 of them coming on an improbable fourth-quarter TD run. Chubb had a 0.3% chance to score on the play, per Next Gen Stats.
2022 stats: 9 games | 202 att | 923 rush yds | 4.6 ypc | 9 rush TD | 16 rec | 154 rec yds | 0 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost
The Broncos held Henry to 53 rushing yards in Week 10, snapping his streak of consecutive games with 100-plus rushing yards at five. Before you show the King any kind of disrespect, take into account that Henry is constantly seeing eight-man boxes and still has twice as many rush yards against stacked boxes (387) as any other NFL back, per NGS. Henry has a short week with the Titans traveling to take on the Packers on Thursday Night Football, and he faces a Packers defense that ranks in the bottom 10 in the league in rush yards per game (140.6) and yards per carry (4.8).
UPDATE: In Thursday night's win over the Packers, Henry had 28 carries for 87 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
2022 stats: 9 games | 125 att | 563 rush yds | 4.5 ypc | 4 rush TD | 47 rec | 395 rec yds | 2 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost
McCaffrey was held in check in Week 10, at least compared to what we've come to expect from him, but Elijah Mitchell did return to action. McCaffrey had 77 scrimmage yards, including the go-ahead 2-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. He's now had three touchdowns in three games with the 49ers compared to three scores in six games with the Panthers.
2022 stats: 9 games | 145 att | 727 rush yds | 5.0 ypc | 6 rush TD | 22 rec | 146 rec yds | 1 rec TD | 1 fumble lost
Cook has been balling during the Vikings' seven-game winning streak. On his career-long 81-yard TD sprint that sparked the team's comeback against Buffalo, Cook reached a speed of 21.68 mph, the third-fastest speed by a ball-carrier this season, per NGS. You can bet Cook will be determined to be the best running back on the field when the Dallas Cowboys come to town Sunday afternoon, especially if Ezekiel Elliott makes his return after missing a pair of games.
2022 stats: 9 games | 104 att | 451 rush yds | 4.3 ypc | 6 rush TD | 67 rec | 420 rec yds | 4 rec TD | 1 fumble lost
We saw Henry, Chubb and McCaffrey have off games by their standards, and it was the same for Ekeler. He was held to 63 scrimmage yards on 13 touches in the loss to the 49ers, and it'll be an uphill battle this week when facing the Chiefs' fifth-ranked run defense.
2022 stats: 9 games | 165 att | 772 rush yds | 4.7 ypc | 3 rush TD | 22 rec | 126 rec yds | 1 rec TD | 1 fumble lost
While the Texans lost to the Giants, Pierce had a beautiful 44-yard run where he showed off his vision and speed. He once again was a bright spot on a struggling team with 17 carries for 94 yards (5.5 yards per carry). Next up, the Texans return home with a chance to beat the Commanders, a team coming down from the high of handing the Eagles their first loss of the season.
2022 stats: 9 games | 131 att | 725 rush yds | 5.5 ypc | 4 rush TD | 22 rec | 202 rec yds | 0 rec TD | 1 fumble lost
After monster performances in the previous few games, Etienne was held to 45 yards on 11 carries in Week 10. The Chiefs took an early lead and never looked back, which forced the Jaguars to abandon the run game and attempt 40 passes on Sunday, the first double-digit loss for the Jaguars this season.
2022 stats: 10 games | 131 att | 738 rush yds | 5.6 ypc | 2 rush TD | 34 rec | 228 rec yds | 3 rec TD | 1 fumble lost
The Packers stopped their skid with an overtime win over Mike McCarthy's Cowboys. Jones played a major role in the victory with 138 rush yards, including a 12-yard touchdown run, on 24 totes. This NFL Research nugget should be all the reason Matt LaFleur needs to run the ball this week: Green Bay is 10-0 when Jones has at least 150 scrimmage yards and one scrimmage TD.
UPDATE: In Thursday night's loss to the Titans, Jones had 18 touches for 60 yards.
2022 stats: 9 games | 129 att | 618 rush yds | 4.8 ypc | 4 rush TD | 35 rec | 227 rec yds | 1 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost
Stevenson has emerged as the lead back on a team that usually operates with a committee approach. His goal ahead of the bye week was to come out of it stronger. We won't have to wait much longer to see if he achieved that goal with the Jets' seventh-ranked total defense coming to Foxborough on Sunday.
2022 stats: 9 games | 121 att | 587 rush yds | 4.9 ypc | 7 rush TD | 18 rec | 103 rec yds | 0 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost
The Seahawks' win streak snapped at four with a loss to the Bucs in Germany. Seattle's offense was off for much of the game and most surprising was Walker posting just 17 yards on 10 carries. In each of the previous five games, he had at least 50 rush yards and one rush TD. He did, however, put in work as a receiver -- an aspect of his game where he's improving -- with a career-high six receptions for 55 yards.
2022 stats: 9 games | 143 att | 710 rush yds | 5.0 ypc | 6 rush TD | 11 rec | 42 rec yds | 0 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost
So much for the perfect season. Sorry, Eagles fans, but maybe it's a good thing. It's better to lose and learn from mistakes now than it is in January. Sanders was held to 54 yards on 12 carries against Washington on Monday night. The loss marked just the second time this season that the Eagles had fewer than 100 rush yards in a game -- the first instance also came against the Commanders.
2022 stats: 9 games | 159 att | 821 rush yds | 5.2 ypc | 7 rush TD | 31 rec | 200 rec yds | 0 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost
Man, rough times for the Raiders right now, as they fell to Jeff Saturday's Colts at home in Week 10. Jacobs toted the rock 21 times for 78 yards, but he has a real chance to rebound Sunday against the Broncos. Jacobs produced 144 rushing yards and two touchdowns in their first meeting back on Oct. 2.
2022 stats: 9 games | 103 att | 621 rush yds | 6.0 ypc | 6 rush TD | 15 rec | 134 rec yds | 0 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost
In Ezekiel Elliott's two-game absence, Pollard averaged 6.8 yards per carry and had 246 rush yards to go along with four TDs. Pollard played a season-high 87 percent of Dallas' offensive snaps last week, something that could be short-lived with Zeke potentially returning against Minnesota.
2022 stats: 9 games | 151 att | 585 rush yds | 3.9 ypc | 6 rush TD | 38 rec | 272 rec yds | 2 rec TD | 0 fumbles lost
Mixon and the Bengals had a Week 10 bye, but I'm still thinking about his five-TD performance back in Week 9. This week the rested Bengals travel to visit the Steelers, who boast the league's sixth-best run defense.
DROPPED OUT: Alvin Kamara, Saints (previously No. 14).
Follow Maurice Jones-Drew on Twitter.
The Ground Index presented by FedEx ranks NFL running back performances all season long. Check out the weekly FedEx Air NFL Players of the Week and cast your vote after Sunday Night Football.
