List of most consecutive starts and games played by National Football League players
This is a list of the most consecutive starts and games played by a player by position in the National Football League.
Quarterback Brett Favre's streak of 297 consecutive games started is the longest all-time. Among defensive players, Jim Marshall's 270 is the longest. Of special note is punter Jeff Feagles, who played in 352 consecutive games which is the longest of all-time for a special teams player. Special teams players are not credited with starts in the NFL. In 2018, Ryan Kerrigan became the most recent player to surpass someone at his position for consecutive starts, having broken the previous mark for left outside linebackers previously held by Jason Gildon.
Leader boards
Bold denotes an active streakConsecutive games started
All-time starts
Minimum 200 consecutive regular season startsRank | Player | Pos | Period | Teams | Consecutive starts | Playoffs | Total | References |
1 | Brett Favre | QB | 9/27/1992 – 12/5/2010 | GB/NYJ/MIN | 297 | 24 | 321 | |
2 | Jim Marshall | DE | 9/17/1961 – 12/16/1979 | MIN | 270 | 19 | 289 | |
3 | Mick Tingelhoff | C | 9/16/1962 – 12/17/1978 | MIN | 240 | 19 | 259 | |
4 | Bruce Matthews | OL | 11/29/1987 – 1/6/2002 | OIL/TEN | 229 | 15 | 244 | |
5 | Philip Rivers | QB | 9/11/2006 – present | SD/LAC/IND | 224 | 11 | 235 | |
6 | Will Shields | RG | 9/12/1993 – 12/31/2006 | KC | 223 | 8 | 231 | |
7T | Alan Page | DT | 10/8/1967 – 12/20/1981 | MIN/CHI | 215 | 19 | 234 | |
7T | Ronde Barber | DB | 11/21/1999 – 12/30/2012 | TB | 215 | 9 | 224 | |
7T | London Fletcher | LB | 11/12/2000 – 12/29/2013 | SLR/BUF/WAS | 215 | 6 | 221 | |
10T | Jim Otto | C | 9/11/1960 – 12/14/1974 | OAK | 210 | 13 | 223 | |
10T | Eli Manning | QB | 11/24/2004 – 11/23/2017 | NYG | 210 | 12 | 222 | |
12T | Derrick Brooks | LB | 9/1/1996 – 12/28/2008 | TB | 208 | 11 | 219 | |
12T | Peyton Manning | QB | 9/6/1998 – 1/2/2011 | IND | 208 | 19 | 227 | |
14 | Gene Upshaw | LG | 9/10/1967 – 10/4/1981 | OAK | 207 | 24 | 231 | |
15 | Randall McDaniel | LG | 10/22/1989 – 1/6/2002 | MIN/TB | 202 | 16 | 218 |
Active leaders
Minimum 100 consecutive regular season startsPlayer | Pos | Teams | Reg. season starts | References |
Philip Rivers | QB | SD/LAC | 224 | |
Brandon Carr | CB | KC/DAL/BAL | 192 | |
Ndamukong Suh | DT | DET/MIA/LAR/TB | 131 | |
Cameron Jordan | DE | NO | 129 | |
Mitchell Schwartz | OT | CLE/KC | 128 | |
Russell Wilson | QB | SEA | 128 | |
Malcolm Jenkins | SS | PHI | 103 |
Consecutive games played
All-time games played
Top 25 players for consecutive regular season games playedRank | Player | Pos | Period | Teams | Consecutive games | Playoffs | Total | References |
1 | Jeff Feagles | P | 9/4/1988 – 1/3/2010 | NE/PHI/ARI/SEA/NYG | 352 | 11 | 363 | |
2 | Brett Favre | QB | 9/13/1992 – 12/5/2010 | GB/NYJ/MIN | 299 | 24 | 323 | |
3 | Jim Marshall | DE | 9/25/1960 – 12/16/1979 | CLE/MIN | 282 | 19 | 301 | |
4 | London Fletcher | LB | 9/6/1998 – 12/29/2013 | SLR/BUF/WAS | 256 | 9 | 265 | |
5 | Shane Lechler | P | 9/29/2002 – 12/31/2017 | OAK/HOU | 254 | 10 | 264 | |
6 | Morten Andersen | K | 10/25/1987 – 12/15/2002 | NO/ATL/NYG/KC | 248 | 8 | 256 | |
7 | Chris Gardocki | P | 11/28/1991 – 12/31/2006 | CHI/IND/CLE/PIT | 244 | 14 | 258 | |
8 | Bill Romanowski | LB | 9/4/1988 – 9/22/2003 | SF/PHI/DEN/OAK | 243 | 28 | 271 | |
9T | Mick Tingelhoff | C | 9/16/1962 – 12/17/1978 | MIN | 240 | 19 | 259 | |
9T | Ryan Longwell | K | 9/1/1997 – 1/1/2012 | GB/MIN | 240 | 13 | 253 | |
9T | Ronde Barber | DB | 9/6/1998 – 12/30/2012 | TB | 240 | 9 | 249 | |
12 | L. P. Ladouceur | LS | 10/2/2005 – present | DAL | 237 | 9 | 246 | |
13 | Jason Witten | TE | 10/19/2003 – 12/31/2017 | DAL | 235 | 8 | 243 | |
14T | Jim Bakken | K | 11/25/1962 – 12/17/1978 | SLC | 234 | 2 | 236 | |
14T | Gary Anderson | K | 10/25/1987 – 1/7/2002 | PIT/PHI/SF/MIN/TEN | 234 | 17 | 251 | |
16 | Bruce Matthews | OL | 11/29/1987 – 1/6/2002 | OIL/TEN | 232 | 15 | 247 | |
17 | Jim Turner | K | 9/12/1964 – 12/17/1979 | NYJ/DEN | 228 | 8 | 236 | |
18 | Philip Rivers | QB | 12/31/2005 – present | SD/LAC | 225 | 11 | 236 | |
19T | George Blanda | K/QB | 9/11/1960 – 12/21/1975 | OIL/OAK | 224 | 18 | 242 | |
19T | John Hadl | QB/P | 9/7/1962 – 12/18/1977 | SD/LAR/GB/OIL | 224 | 4 | 228 | |
19T | Dan Stryzinski | P | 9/9/1990 – 12/28/2003 | PIT/TB/ATL/KC/NYJ | 224 | 4 | 228 | |
19T | Will Shields | RG | 9/5/1993 – 12/31/2006 | KC | 224 | 8 | 232 | |
19T | Derrick Brooks | LB | 9/3/1995 – 12/28/2008 | TB | 224 | 11 | 235 | |
19T | Kevin Carter | DE/DT | 9/3/1995 – 12/28/2008 | SLR/TEN/MIA/TB | 224 | 9 | 233 | |
19T | Ethan Albright | LS | 9/1/1996 – 1/3/2010 | BUF/WAS | 224 | 6 | 230 | |
19T | John Denney | LS | 9/11/2005 – 12/30/2018 | MIA | 224 | 2 | 226 | |
19T | Sam Koch | P | 9/10/2006 – present | BAL | 224 | 18 | 242 |
Consecutive starts by position
Offensive skilled
Position | Player | Period | Teams | Consecutive starts | Playoffs | Total | References |
Quarterback | Brett Favre | 9/27/1992 – 12/5/2010 | GB/NYJ/MIN | 297 | 24 | 321 | |
Tight end | Jason Witten | 12/16/2006 – 12/31/2017 | DAL | 179 | 7 | 186 | |
Wide receiver | Tim Brown | 12/14/1992 – 12/7/2003 | RAI/OAK | 176 | 9 | 185 | |
Running back | Walter Payton | 12/7/1975 – 9/20/1987 | CHI | 170 | 8 | 178 | |
Fullback | Jim Brown | 9/29/1957 – 12/19/1965 | CLE | 118 | 4 | 122 |
Offensive linemen
Position | Player | Period | Teams | Consecutive starts | Playoffs | Total | References |
Center | Mick Tingelhoff | 9/16/1962 – 12/17/1978 | MIN | 240 | 19 | 259 | |
Right guard | Will Shields | 9/12/1993 – 12/31/2006 | KC | 223 | 8 | 231 | |
Left guard | Gene Upshaw | 9/10/1967 – 10/4/1981 | OAK | 207 | 24 | 231 | |
Left tackle | Doug Dieken | 11/21/1971 – 12/16/1984 | CLE | 194 | 4 | 198 | |
Right tackle | Jon Runyan | 8/31/1997 – 12/28/2008 | TEN/PHI | 192 | 21 | 213 |
Defensive linemen
Position | Player | Period | Teams | Consecutive starts | Playoffs | Total | References |
Defensive end | Jim Marshall | 9/17/1961 – 12/16/1979 | MIN | 270 | 19 | 289 | |
Weakside defensive end | Jim Marshall | 9/16/1962 – 12/16/1979 | MIN | 256 | 19 | 275 | |
Defensive tackle | Alan Page | 10/8/1967 – 12/20/1981 | MIN/CHI | 215 | 19 | 234 | |
Weakside defensive tackle | Alan Page | 9/14/1968 – 12/20/1981 | MIN/CHI | 204 | 19 | 223 | |
Strongside defensive tackle | Merlin Olsen | 12/9/1962 – 12/11/1976 | LAR | 198 | 9 | 207 | |
Strongside defensive end | Jack Youngblood | 10/8/1972 – 12/2/1984 | LAR | 184 | 16 | 200 | |
Nose tackle | Fred Smerlas | 9/7/1980 – 9/20/1987 | BUF | 107 | 3 | 110 |
Linebackers
Position | Player | Period | Teams | Consecutive starts | Playoffs | Total | References |
Linebacker | London Fletcher | 11/12/2000 – 12/29/2013 | SLR/BUF/WAS | 215 | 6 | 221 | |
Weakside linebacker | Derrick Brooks | 9/1/1996 – 12/28/2008 | TB | 208 | 11 | 219 | |
Middle linebacker | Lee Roy Jordan | 9/18/1966 – 12/12/1976 | DAL | 154 | 19 | 173 | |
Right outside linebacker | Robert Brazile | 9/21/1975 – 12/16/1984 | OIL | 147 | 7 | 154 | |
Strongside linebacker | Bill Romanowski | 9/4/1994 – 9/22/2003 | PHI/DEN/OAK | 140 | 14 | 154 | |
Left outside linebacker | Ryan Kerrigan | 9/11/2011 – 11/24/2019 | WAS | 139 | 2 | 141 | |
Left inside linebacker | Levon Kirkland | 11/27/1994 – 12/24/2000 | PIT | 107 | 9 | 116 | |
Right inside linebacker | Lawrence Timmons | 12/5/2010 – 1/1/2017 | PIT | 101 | 10 | 111 |
Defensive backs
Position | Player | Period | Teams | Consecutive starts | Playoffs | Total | References |
Defensive back | Ronde Barber | 11/21/1999 – 12/30/2012 | TB | 215 | 9 | 224 | |
Cornerback | Ronde Barber | 11/21/1999 – 9/9/2012 | TB | 200 | 9 | 209 | |
Safety | Willie Wood | 9/17/1961 – 12/19/1971 | GB | 154 | 9 | 163 | |
Strong safety | Bill Thompson | 9/16/1973 – 12/20/1981 | DEN | 134 | 5 | 139 | |
Free safety | Darryl Williams | 10/11/1992 – 12/27/1998 | CIN/SEA | 108 | 0 | 108 |
Special teams
Position | Player | Period | Teams | Consecutive games | Playoffs | Total | References |
Punter | Jeff Feagles | 9/4/1988 – 1/3/2010 | NE/PHI/ARI/SEA/NYG | 352 | 11 | 363 | |
Kicker | Morten Andersen | 10/25/1987 – 12/15/2002 | NO/ATL/NYG/KC | 248 | 8 | 256 | |
Long snapper | L. P. Ladouceur | 10/2/2005 – present | DAL | 237 | 9 | 246 | |
Kick/Punt returner | Carl Roaches | 9/7/1980 – 12/16/1984 | OIL | 73 | 1 | 74 |
Note: Games played by special teams players such as kickers and punters are not recognized officially as starts by the NFL.