60 Fun Facts About NFL Stats

Who is the NFL's career passing yards leader with 89,214 yards?

Brady's 89,214 yards came over 23 seasons; he also holds the career records for attempts (12,050) and completions (7,753).

The NFL's career leader in touchdown passes retired with how many?

Nobody else has reached 600; Brady also threw the most pass attempts in a season, 733, in his final year at age 45.

Who holds the single-season passing yards record, 5,477 yards set in 2013?

That same 2013 season he threw 55 touchdown passes, another single-season record, in his second year with Denver.

Which quarterback has the most 5,000-yard passing seasons, with five?

Brees did it in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016; every other quarterback in history has done it once at most.

Which quarterback was the first to pass for 5,000 yards in a season, in 1984?

Marino's 5,084 yards in his second season stood as the record for 27 years; Joe Namath had been the first to 4,000 in 1967.

The single-game passing record of 554 yards was set in 1951 by which Los Angeles Rams quarterback?

The 1951 mark has now outlasted every rule change designed to help passers; Van Brocklin shared the Rams' quarterback job with Bob Waterfield that season.

Which quarterback threw seven touchdown passes with a perfect 158.3 passer rating in a single 2013 game?

Seven touchdown passes in a game has been done eight times, but only Foles combined it with a perfect rating; Denver's quarterback had also thrown seven in the season opener two months earlier.

Which quarterback threw the most career interceptions, 336?

Favre also holds the career fumbles record with 166; the two marks are the price of the most consecutive starts ever by a quarterback.

The single-season record for interceptions thrown, set in 1962, is how many?

They came in a 14-game AFL season for the Houston Oilers, whose quarterback was also the league's placekicker.

Which quarterback set the single-season passer rating record of 122.5 in 2011?

Rodgers also holds the career passer rating record at 102.2, a mark one active quarterback has since matched.

Which quarterback was sacked a record 76 times in the 2002 season?

Carr was the first pick of the expansion Houston Texans; he also set the record for fumbles recovered in a season (12) that year, mostly his own.

Through 2025, who had the highest career completion rate, 68.5% (min. 1,500 attempts)?

The single-season mark, 74.4% in 2018, belongs to a Saints quarterback; Burrow passed him on the career list.

Who is the NFL's career rushing leader with 18,355 yards?

Smith also has the most carries (4,409) and rushing touchdowns (164); he passed Walter Payton in 2002.

Whose 2,105 rushing yards in 1984 remain the single-season record?

Dickerson did it in his second season; a year earlier he had set the rookie record with 1,808 yards, which still stands.

Who ran for a single-game record 296 yards in a November 2007 game?

Peterson was a rookie; he reached 1,000 career yards in eight games, the fastest ever.

LaDainian Tomlinson's record-setting 2006 season produced how many total touchdowns?

Twenty-eight of them came on the ground, also a record, and his 186 points are the most any player has scored in a season.

Which running back holds the record for most carries in a season, 416 in 2006?

Johnson's Chiefs workload came in the same season Tomlinson was scoring 31 touchdowns; James Wilder Sr. still holds the record for combined rushes and receptions (492).

Which running back averaged a record 104.3 rushing yards per game over his career?

Brown led the league in rushing eight times in nine seasons and retired at 29 to act in films.

Which quarterback set the single-season quarterback rushing record with 1,206 yards in 2019?

Jackson was the unanimous MVP that season and has since become the career rushing leader among quarterbacks with more than 6,500 yards.

Which quarterback holds the career record for rushing touchdowns by a QB, 79 through 2025?

Allen and Jalen Hurts share the single-season quarterback record with 15 rushing scores each in 2023.

Which quarterback averaged a record 7.0 yards per rushing attempt over his career (minimum 750 carries)?

Vick gained 6,109 yards on 873 carries; the record among all players with 1,000 carries belongs to 1940s-50s fullback Marion Motley at 5.7.

How many career receiving yards did Jerry Rice finish with?

Rice is more than 5,000 yards clear of anyone else, and he also holds the career marks for receptions (1,549), receiving touchdowns (197) and total touchdowns (208).

Who set the single-season receptions record with 149 catches in 2019?

Thomas broke Marvin Harrison's 143 from 2002; his 9.31 catches per game that year is also a record.

Calvin Johnson's single-season receiving yards record, set in 2012, stands at how many yards?

He fell 36 yards short of 2,000 despite Detroit going 4-12; he also holds the record for receiving yards in a regulation game, 329.

Which receiver caught a single-game record 21 passes in a 2009 game?

Marshall did it for Denver against Indianapolis; he is also one of only four players with two 15-catch games.

Who holds the single-game receiving yards record with 336, set in an overtime game in 1989?

Anderson's Rams beat New Orleans in overtime; the regulation-game record is Calvin Johnson's 329 in 2013.

Randy Moss's 2007 season set the single-season receiving touchdown record at how many?

Moss broke Jerry Rice's 22 from 1987, and Rice needed only 12 games that strike-shortened year; Moss also holds the rookie record with 17 in 1998.

Which 1930s-40s Green Bay end led the NFL in touchdown catches a record nine seasons?

Hutson also led the league in receptions eight times and receiving yards seven times, records that have survived 80 years.

Who is the NFL's official career sack leader with 200?

Smith reached the round number in his 19th and final season; he had 13 seasons of 10 or more sacks, another record.

Which player set the single-season sack record with 23 in 2025?

Garrett broke the 22.5 shared by Michael Strahan (2001) and T. J. Watt (2021).

Who recorded a single-game record seven sacks in a 1990 game?

Thomas sacked Seattle's Dave Krieg seven times on Veterans Day, but Krieg escaped an eighth and threw the winning touchdown as time expired.

Quarterback sacks became an official NFL statistic in which season?

That is why Deacon Jones, who coined the term, holds no official sack records; the 1982 season was also shortened to nine games by a strike.

Who is the only player with two seasons of 20 or more sacks?

Watt had 20.5 in both 2012 and 2014; his 39 tackles for loss in 2012 are also a single-season record.

Who holds the career interceptions record with 81?

Krause played safety for Washington and Minnesota from 1964 to 1979 and passed Emlen Tunnell's 79 in his final season.

Which defensive back set the single-season interceptions record with 14, as a rookie in 1952?

Lane did it in a 12-game season for the Rams after walking into their offices to ask for a tryout.

Who holds the record for the longest interception return, 108 yards in 2008?

Reed broke his own record of 106 yards from 2004; he also has the most blocked-punt return touchdowns, three.

Which cornerback returned a record five interceptions for touchdowns in the 2023 season?

Bland's five pick-sixes for Dallas broke a record of four that several players had shared.

Who is the NFL's all-time leading scorer with 2,673 points?

Vinatieri also holds the career field goal record with 599 and kicked 11 overtime winners, another record.

The oldest standing NFL record, 40 points by one player in a single game, was set in 1929 by whom?

Nevers scored six rushing touchdowns and kicked four extra points for the Chicago Cardinals on Thanksgiving; the six-touchdown mark was tied by Alvin Kamara on Christmas Day 2020.

The longest field goal in NFL history, a 68-yarder in 2025, was kicked by whom?

Little broke Justin Tucker's 66-yarder from 2021; Brandon Aubrey holds the career record for 60-yard field goals.

David Akers (2011) and Ka'imi Fairbairn (2025) share the single-season field goal record. How many?

Akers also holds the record for attempts in a season with 52; Rob Bironas kicked a record eight in one game in 2007.

Who kicked a record 10 extra points in a single game in September 2023?

Miami gained a single-game record 726 yards against Denver that day; the previous mark of 10 attempts, from 1966, had included misses.

Who holds the record for most games played, 382?

Andersen kicked for 25 seasons and returned to Atlanta at 46; he retired as the career scoring leader and held that mark until 2018.

Who played a record 26 NFL seasons?

Blanda quarterbacked and kicked from 1949 to 1975 and remains the oldest player ever to appear in a game, at 48.

The record for consecutive games played, 352, belongs to which punter?

Feagles never missed a game in 22 seasons; the record for consecutive starts by a quarterback is 297.

Who holds the career record for combined tackles, 2,059?

Lewis also holds the single-season solo tackle record with 156 in 1997, his second season.

Who scored the most return touchdowns in NFL history, 20?

Hester's total counts punts, kickoffs and missed field goals; a 21st came in the postseason, the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XLI.

The longest scoring play in NFL history covered how many yards?

Antonio Cromartie (2007, missed field goal return), Cordarrelle Patterson (2013, kickoff) and Jamal Agnew (2021, missed field goal) all went 109 yards.

The longest punt in NFL history, 98 yards in 1969, was kicked by whom?

O'Neal was a Jets rookie punting from his own end zone at Denver; the ball rolled dead at the Broncos' 1-yard line.

Which team recorded a single-season record 72 sacks?

Buddy Ryan's 46 defense peaked statistically the year before the Super Bowl team; Richard Dent had 17.5 of the 72.

Which team gained a single-season record 7,474 yards of offense?

The Saints' quarterback passed for 5,476 yards that year and the team completed a record percentage of its passes.

Which team overcame a record 33-point deficit to win a game in December 2022?

The Vikings trailed the Colts 33-0 at halftime and won 39-36 in overtime, breaking the 32-point comeback record Buffalo set in the 1992 playoffs.

Which franchise holds the record for the longest losing streak, 26 games?

The expansion Bucs lost every game in 1976 and the first 12 of 1977; they still have the lowest all-time winning percentage of any current franchise.

Which franchise has the most ties in NFL history, 42, including six in the 1932 season alone?

Ties were common before sudden-death overtime arrived in 1974; the 1932 Bears tied three games in a row and still won the championship.

Which franchise has the most NFL championships, 13, counting the pre-Super Bowl era?

Nine of the 13 came before the Super Bowl existed; the Packers also have the highest all-time regular-season winning percentage.

Which franchise holds the record for most consecutive winning seasons, 20, from 1965 to 1985?

The run spanned the Tom Landry era, from Don Meredith to Danny White.

Which team completed a single-season record 499 passes in 2022?

It was Tom Brady's final season, and his last in Tampa after a pass-happy 8-9 campaign.

Which team threw at least one touchdown pass in a record 54 consecutive games from 2009 to 2012?

The streak ran from October 18, 2009 to November 25, 2012, squarely in the Drew Brees era.

Which team allowed a record 104 sacks in a single season, in 1986?

It was Buddy Ryan's first season in Philadelphia, with Randall Cunningham and Ron Jaworski absorbing the punishment.

Which team holds the record for most consecutive league championship game appearances, six, from 1950-55?

The Giants hold the overall mark with 19 championship game appearances, and the Packers have the most titles with 13.