What Madden curse? Calvin Johnson has never heard of it. Not only did he break two major NFL records in one night, he’s also on his way to another. Read more after the jump.
The Lions took a loss to the Atlanta Falcons last night continuing their disappointing season but the highlight of the night was on Calvin Johnson. The Detroit Lions wide receiver entered Saturday night’s game against the Falcons needing 182 yards to break Hall of Famer Jerry Rice’s single-season receiving yards record and there wasn’t a doubt in anyone’s mind on whether or not he’d get it.
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.
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.
That record wasn’t the only one broken last night. Johnson also recorded his eighth consecutive game with 100-yards receiving and he did it all before the second half. He eclipsed the mark shared by Charley Hennigan (1961) and Hall of Famer Michael Irvin (1995). He has 11 100-yard games this season.
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.”
