Record-Breaking NFL Moments of 2009

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Jan 8, 2010

Record-Breaking NFL Moments of 2009

Chris Johnson

With the 2009 regular season in the books, SI.com looks at some of the record-breaking moments, starting with Chris Johnson, who finished with a record 2,509 total yards while becoming the sixth player in league history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. Along the way to eclipsing the 2,429 yards compiled by Marshall Faulk in 1999, Johnson became the first player to score touchdowns of 50-plus, 60-plus and 91-plus in the same game when he had 57- and 91-yard scoring runs and a 69-yard TD reception in Week 2. His three touchdown runs of 85 yards or longer this season are more than any other player has in an entire career.

Brett Favre

On Dec. 6, Brett Favre set the league record by playing in his 283rd consecutive game, moving ahead of former Vikings great Jim Marshall. Earlier in the season, Favre set a record with his 271st consecutive start. He also became the first quarterback in history to beat all 32 NFL teams when the Vikings defeated Favre's old Green Bay Packers in October.

DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart

DeAngelo Williams (1,117 yards) sat out Carolina's final two games with a sprained ankle, while Jonathan Stewart (1,133 yards) finished a strong sophomore season with three straight 100-plus yard rushing performances and the team rushing lead. Williams and Stewart became the first teammates since the AFL-NFL merger to each rush for over 1,100 yards.

Tom Brady

On a snowy October Sunday in Foxboro, Tom Brady threw five touchdown passes in the second quarter against Tennessee, the most ever in a single NFL quarter. The Patriots led 45-0 at halftime, another NFL first.

Brandon Marshall

Brandon Marshall did all he could to talk and pout his way out of Denver in the preseason. But he stuck around and set an NFL record with 21 receptions in Week 13 against the Colts on a day when quarterback Kyle Orton targeted the tall receiver 28 times. Marshall broke the mark set by Terrell Owens while with San Francisco on Dec. 17, 2000.

Kurt Warner

A week after he opened the season by throwing two interceptions and getting sacked three times, Kurt Warner completed 24 of 26 passes, with no interceptions and no sacks en route to setting the single-game completion percentage record at 92.3. The old record of 91.3 percent had been set by Vinny Testaverde while with Cleveland on Dec. 26, 1993 against the Los Angeles Rams.

Joshua Cribbs

With his second kickoff return for a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 20, Joshua Cribbs became the first player in league history to have eight scoring returns in a career. He and Miami's Ted Ginn Jr. became the only players in league history with two 100-plus-yard kickoff returns in the same game. Ginn pulled off the feat in Week 8 against the Jets.

Drew Brees

No quarterback in league history has finished a season with a higher completion percentage than Drew Brees, who connected on 363 of his 514 attempts for 70.6 percent. Brees broke the record set in 1982 by Cincinnati's Ken Anderson (70.55).

Darren Sharper

The veteran free safety finished the season tied with Buffalo rookie Jairus Byrd, Philadelphia's Asante Samuel and Green Bay's Charles Woodson with a season-high nine interceptions, but Sharper stands alone in interception return yards in a single season. He had 376 to clip Ed Reed's record of 358 set in 2004.

Ben Roethlisberger

No player in league history had thrown for over 500 yards and capped it with a game-winning touchdown throw in the fourth quarter of the same game until Big Ben did so against Green Bay in Week 15. Roethlisberger finished with 503 yards.

Matthew Stafford

The Detroit quarterback set an NFL rookie record by throwing for 422 yards and five touchdowns in a 38-37 victory against Cleveland on Nov. 22. His final TD of the game came on an untimed play at the end of regulation when he re-entered the game against doctor's orders.

Tennessee Titans

Tennessee lost its first six games of the season, but won its next five with Vince Young under center to become the first NFL team to have that kind of turnaround.

Pittsburgh Steelers

With a chilly thud in Cleveland in a Week 14 setback, the Pittsburgh Steelers became the first team in NFL history (not counting replacement players) to lose five in a row the season after winning a Super Bowl. The Steelers went on to join the dubious club of Super Bowl champions who failed to make the playoffs the following year.

Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints

Both teams won their first 13 games, marking the first time in NFL history that two teams went that deep into a season without suffering a loss. The Colts also set the record for consecutive regular season wins over multiple seasons, running their mark to 23 before losing in Week 16 to the New York Jets.

Aaron Rodgers

The Packer became the first quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in each of his first two seasons as a starter. He and Kurt Warner are the only quarterbacks to throw for 4,000 in their first season as a starter. Warner, however, passed for only 3,429 the next season. Rodgers has gone for 4,038 and 4,434.

Dallas Cowboys

For the opening game of their new stadium, the Cowboys issued 105,121 tickets, setting an NFL record for attendance. The old mark of 103,467 occurred in October 2005 at a 49ers-Cardinals game at Azteca Stadium in Mexico.<br><br>Which record would you add to the gallery? Send comments to siwriters@simail.com.

Record-Breaking NFL Moments of 2009