Forget Jerry Rice's Record, Calvin Johnson Will Go for 2,000 Yards

Congratulations, first and foremost, to Calvin Johnson of the Detroit Lions for breaking Jerry Rice’s longstanding single-season record of 1,848 receiving yards. With four quarters of football remaining in 2012, Johnson’s assault on the record books is not yet on an offseason hiatus: 2,000 yards is in sight.

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What an amazing season 4 @bigplaycj , could he possibly go 2000? It is a pleasure 2 watch greatness... 1st Jerry Rice & now MegaTron!

— Kurt Warner (@kurt13warner) December 23, 2012

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It took Johnson 15 games to break his previous single-season yardage peak: 1,681 yards in 2011. He now sits at 1,892 yards on 117 receptions with one game to go. He needs just 108 yards to reach the fabled 2,000-yard plateau. He’s already topped that 11 times this season, including eight straight contests between 118 and 225 yards receiving.

Mathematically, it isn’t too complicated to reach 2,000 yards in a single season. If a guy plays 16 games in a year, he would simply need to average 125 yards per game to accomplish the feat. The trouble is with actually gaining those 125 yards on a weekly basis.

Given that no one has actually ever done that over 16 games, 125 yards every week is trouble enough in and of itself—but Calvin is averaging 126.1 yards per game this season.

@BigPlayCJ, indeed.

Next up for Johnson and the Lions is the Chicago Bears defense. Chicago held him to just 34 yards on three catches at Soldier Field in Week 7 and has playoff positioning to play for this season. Topping 108 yards against the Bears this time around is not going to be easy, especially when everyone in the building knows where the ball is going to go.

The last time Johnson suited up against Chicago at home (Week 5 of 2011), he caught five of his six targets for 130 yards and a touchdown. His last four home games overall have seen him average an absurd 169.8 receiving yards per game. He still has to go out and do it, but 2,000 yards seems more than likely for the man they call Megatron.

Would you like to bet that he doesn’t get 108?

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