Jerry Rice’s 1987 Season
If you look up the NFL record for most receiving touchdowns in a single season, it shows Randy Moss as the record holder with 23. And I’m not taking anything away from Randy Moss, because he is without a doubt the most physically gifted receiver of all time. But let’s look a little closer.
Moss scored 23 touchdowns in 16 games in 2007, which is amazing. He and quarterback Tom Brady were locked in, and torched the league all season long.
But let’s go back 20 years prior, to 1987. A young receiver named Jerry Rice, in his 3rd year in the NFL, scored 22 receiving touchdowns, and also chipped in one rushing touchdown, for 23 total.
What’s the big difference between the 2 seasons? As mentioned before, Moss played in 16 games…
Jerry Rice played in 12 games.
1987 was a strike-shortened season for the NFL, and most players only played in 12 or 13 games. He scored in every game in the regular season. Rice scored an incredible 22 touchdown catches in just 12 games. The previous record was 18 by Miami’s Mark Clayton in 1984. Rice increased the record by roughly 22%, while playing in 25% FEWER games.
So, to put those numbers into perspective, let’s do this.. today’s NFL season is 17 games, and as mentioned previously, the current record for receiving touchdowns is 23. To eclipse the current record by the same amount having played in roughly 25% fewer games than the season has, a player today would have to score 28 touchdowns in roughly 13 games. This season’s leader in receiving touchdowns was Devante Adams, with 14. So he would had to have DOUBLED his touchdown production, even though he already had the advantage of an additional 5 games.
Not only that, but the NFL over the last roughly 15 years has seen a significant spike in the passing game, with teams throwing the ball far more than in previous years. Example? In 1987, San Fransisco 49ers starting quarterback Joe Montana attempted 398 passes. In 2007, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady completed 398 passes, having thrown almost 600 pass attempts. If Montana had thrown roughly 200 more passes in 1987, and many of them likely would have been in the direction of Jerry Rice, how many more touchdowns would he have scored? We’ll never know.
I wish there was a magical formula that would calculate records and greatness that would factor in eras, rules changes, steroids, injury, and so on. If that magic formula is found, look for Jerry Rice to add to his list of personal records.