Calvin Johnson Breaks NFL Receiving Record

23 Dec, 2012

Calvin Johnson continued his tear through NFL secondaries in historic fashion.

The Detroit Lions wide receiver entered Saturday night’s game against the Atlanta Falcons needing 182 yards to break Hall of Famer Jerry Rice’s single-season receiving yards record. Was there ever a doubt?

With a 26-yard reception from quarterback Matthew Stafford in the fourth quarter, Johnson made history by surpassing Rice’s mark of 1,848 yards set in 1995.

Johnson, who finished the night with 11 catches for 225 yards, now has 1,892 on the year.

“It’s a huge accomplishment to take one of those records from the great Jerry,” Johnson told ESPN’s Lisa Salters after the game. “All the work that we put in this year, I guess you can say it’s well deserved.”

Right after the record-breaking catch, Johnson went straight to the sideline to hand the ball to his father, Calvin Johnson Sr., who couldn’t put into words his son’s achievement.

“You imagine great things, but how can you imagine this?” Johnson Sr. said.

Breaking the single-season yardage mark was preceded by another as Johnson’s 117 first-half receiving yards ensured him of the record for consecutive 100-yard receiving games with eight, eclipsing the mark shared by Charley Hennigan (1961) and Hall of Famer Michael Irvin (1995). For the season, Johnson now has 11 100-yard games, which is incredible.

With this out of the way, Johnson can focus on trying to become the first receiver in NFL history to reach 2,000 yards in next week’s season finale at home against the Chicago Bears.

“After a game like this, it becomes very realistic,” said Johnson, who’s 108 yards from the barrier. “We’ve got a tough opponent next week, so we’ve got to do our homework.”

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