Who has the most fantasy points in a game? Here are the best single-game performances in football history

2024-09-04
7 min read

It's a great feeling to see your favorite player from your hometown team have an explosive performance to lead your team to victory. But it's arguably an even better feeling to have someone on your fantasy roster dominate your matchup with a 40-plus point performance to crush your opponent's hopes of winning. Those who had Alvin Kamara in their fantasy championship matchup in 2020 know this feeling all too well. But where does Kamara's legendary Christmas Day game stack up against the greatest fantasy performances of all time?

Our data comes from Football Reference's Game Finder tool. We set our parameters to date back to the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, so Johnny Unitas and Jim Brown won't be on this list. But a few old-school names made the cut with performances that would likely be remembered by more fans if fantasy football had been prominent in the 1970s.

The list of quarterbacks is littered with (future) Hall-of-Fame signal callers, including Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers. Oddly enough, the year 2002 was the year for 50-point days for running backs; four of the games on our list come from '02. It shouldn't come as a shock that the list of pass catchers is dominated by more Hall-of-Fame talent. Jerry Rice and Kellen Winslow lead the way at wide receiver and tight end.

WEEK 1 FANTASY PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STsKickers

Note: The scoring accounts for 4-point passing touchdowns, 6-point rushing and receiving touchdowns, 0.04 points per passing yard, 0.1 points per rushing and receiving yard, and 1 point per reception.

Most fantasy points in a game by a QB

No. Player Fantasy Points Passing Yards Passing TDs Rushing Yards Rushing TDs
1 Michael Vick, Eagles (11/15/10) 49.32 333 4 80 2
2 Mark Rypien, Washington (11/10/91) 48.08 442 6 4 1
3 Peyton Manning, Broncos (9/5/13) 46.28 462 7 -2 0
4 Aaron Rodgers, Packers (10/2/11) 45.92 408 4 36 2
5 Nick Foles, Eagles (11/3/13) 45.24 406 7 10 0
6 Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers (10/26/14) 44.78 522 6 -1 0
7 Drew Brees, Saints (11/1/15) 44.3 505 7 1 0
8 Randall Cunningham, Eagles (11/4/90) 44 240 4 124 1
9 Aaron Rodgers, Packers (10/20/19) 43.76 429 5 6 1
10 Mitchell Trubisky, Bears (9/30/18) 43.46 354 6 53 0

Most fantasy points in a game by a RB

No. Player Fantasy Points Rushing Yards Rushing TDs Receptions Receiving Yards Receiving TDs
1 Jamaal Charles, Chiefs (12/15/13) 59.50 20 1 8 195 4
2 Clinton Portis, Broncos (12/7/03) 57.40 218 5 2 36 0
3 Alvin Kamara, Saints (12/25/20) 56.20 155 6 3 17 0
4 Shaun Alexander, Seahawks (9/29/02) 56.10 139 4 3 92 1
5 LaDanian Tomlinson, Chargers (12/1/02) 56.10 220 3 11 51  
6 Priest Holmes, Chiefs (11/24/02) 55.70 197 2 7 110 1
7 Chris Johnson, Titans (9/20/09) 55.40 197 2 9 87 1
8 Doug Martin, Buccaneers (11/4/12) 55.20 251 4 4 21 0
9 Joe Mixon (11/6/22) 55.10 153 4 4 58 1
10 Marshall Faulk, Rams (10/20/02) 54.50 183 3 7 52 1

Most fantasy points in a game by a WR

No. Player Fantasy Points Receptions Receiving Yards Receiving TDs
1 Jerry Rice, 49ers (10/14/90) 65.50 13 225 5
2 Jimmy Smith, Jaguars (9/10/00) 62.10 15 291 3
3 Jerry Butler, Bills (9/23/79) 60.70 10 255 4
4 Jerry Rice, 49ers (12/18/95) 59.90 14 289 3
5 Steve Largent, Seahawks (10/18/87) 59.10 15 261 3
6 Tyreek Hill, Chiefs (11/29/20) 57.90 13 269 3
7 Ja'Marr Chase, Bengals (1/2/22) 55.60 11 266 3
8 Harold Jackson, Rams (10/14/73) 54.80 7 238 4
9 Terrell Owens, 49ers (12/17/00) 54.80 20 283 1
10 Flipper Anderson, Rams (11/26/89)  54.60 15 336 1

Most fantasy points in a game by a TE

No. Player Fantasy Points Receptions Receiving Yards Receiving TDs
1 Kellen Winslow, Chargers (11/22/81) 57.40 13 144 5
2 Kellen Winslow, Chargers (12/11/83) 48.20 14 162 3
3 Shannon Sharpe, Broncos (10/6/96) 46.30 13 153 3
4 Shannon Sharpe, Broncos (10/20/02) 45.40 12 214 2
5 Darren Waller, Raiders (12/6/20) 45.00 13 200 2
6 Rich Caster, Jets (9/24/72) 44.40 6 204 3
7 Todd Christensen, Raiders (10/16/83) 44.20 11 152 3
8 Jimmie Giles, Buccaneers (10/20/85) 42.60 7 116 4
9 Keith Jackson, Eagles (9/17/89) 42.60 12 126 3
10 Antonio Gates, Chargers (10/30/05) 42.50 10 145 3

Most fantasy points in a game by a Kicker

No. Player Fantasy Points
1 Rob Bironas, Titans (10/21/07) 28
2 Jay Feely, Cardinals (12/19/10) 27.5
3 Billy Cundiff, Cowboys (9/15/03) 25
4 Cairo Santos, Chiefs (10/4/15) 25
5 Stephen Gostkowski, Titans (9/27/20) 25
6 Matt Gay, Colts (9/24/23) 24
7 Jason Myers, Seahawks (10/14/18) 24
8 Blair Walsh, Vikings (12/16/12) 24
9-12 Four players tied (Jason Sanders '19, Blair Walsh '15, Jeff Wilkins '00, Greg Zurlein '17) 23