When the NFL added a 17th game to the regular season schedule, it was assumed that most 16-game records would quickly fall. For example, Michael Strahan's single-season sack record (22.5) was tied by T.J. Watt in the very first 17-game season in 2021 before being surpassed on Sunday by Myles Garrett.
Yet one single-season record that has felt obtainable has remained elusive: Calvin Johnson's receiving yards record (1,964).
In 2012, amidst a dismal yet par for the course 4-12 season, Johnson's connection with quarterback Matthew Stafford was at its most dominant. Johnson caught a league-leading 122 passes and fell just short of 2,000 yards. Curiously, Johnson's knack for being tackled short of the goalline led to him only hauling in five touchdown passes all season.
Johnson's season, naturally, was worthy of his second of three First-Team All-Pro selections and a tie for third-place in Offensive Player of the Year voting alongside quarterback Tom Brady and behind QB Peyton Manning and MVP-winning running back Adrian Peterson.
The Lions legend was never able to replicate the feat, or even get close. Johnson would play three more seasons before retiring at 30 years old. Even years after making the Hall of Fame on the first ballot, many NFL fans still believe he could come back and put together a respectable season.
Numerous wide receivers have fallen short of history
Johnson's record remaining is a testament to why fans should not get too hung up on "on pace for" stats throughout the NFL season, as numerous wide receivers have found themselves on track to break Johnson's record, but ultimately fell short. It hasn't been for the lack of trying, with Johnson's former QB becoming the biggest threat.
In 2021, the first 17-game season, Stafford was playing in his first season with the Los Angeles Rams. His top target was Cooper Kupp. Stafford and Kupp clicked immediately, resulting in the closest a WR has come to breaking Johnson's record at 1,947 yards. Kupp would win the WR Triple Crown en route to a Super Bowl MVP in what is generally considered the best WR season ever. The following season, Minnesota Vikings' Justin Jefferson reached 1,809 receiving yards in his Offensive Player of the Year season.
Stafford was at it again in 2025 in what could be a Hall of Fame-crowning MVP season for him. His top WR now, Puka Nacua, led the league in receptions with 129 -- more than Johnson in 2012. Nacua did miss a game, but still walked away with 1,715 receiving yards.
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Yet Nacua wasn't the biggest threat to Johnson's record this season. That threat resided in Seattle, and no, it wasn't Kupp who joined the Seattle Seahawks this season. It was Jaxon Smith-Njigba. With Sam Darnold behind center, Smith-Njigba led the league in receiving with 1,793 yards. That may be 172 yards short of surpassing Johnson's mark, but Smith-Njigba spent much of the season on pace to easily clear it.
Through 11 games, Smith-Njigba was averaging 119.36 yards per game, which, with a 17th game, would've been on pace for 2,029.18 yards. However, Smith-Njigba would average 80 yards in the remaining six games.
The NFL currently has no shortage of elite WRs and big arm QBs who can get the ball to them. Johnson's record surviving shows just how legendary a season his 2012 campaign was. It serves as a constant reminder of how dominant "Megatron" was and why he is one of the most gifted to ever play the position. This record will one day fall, but it might take someone with Johnson's legendary caliber to get there.