NFL Receiving Records: Career, Season and Single-Game Leaders
Compare NFL records for receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches across careers, seasons and games, with schedule and overtime context.
Jerry Rice owns all three major career receiving records: 1,549 receptions, 22,895 receiving yards and 197 touchdown catches. But the season and single-game records belong to a wider cast—including Michael Thomas, Calvin Johnson, Randy Moss and Flipper Anderson.
The major NFL receiving records
These are regular-season records through the 2025 season, as listed in the NFL’s official 2026 Record & Fact Book, whose printed information is current to July 14, 2026. This summary excludes the in-progress 2026 season. Playoff statistics are separate, and receiving categories cover all pass-catchers, not just wide receivers.
| Category | Record | Player | Career, season or game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Career receptions | 1,549 | Jerry Rice | 1985–2004 |
| Career receiving yards | 22,895 | Jerry Rice | 1985–2004 |
| Career receiving touchdowns | 197 | Jerry Rice | 1985–2004 |
| Season receptions | 149 | Michael Thomas, Saints | 2019 |
| Season receiving yards | 1,964 | Calvin Johnson, Lions | 2012 |
| Season receiving touchdowns | 23 | Randy Moss, Patriots | 2007 |
| Game receptions | 21 | Brandon Marshall, Broncos | At Indianapolis, December 13, 2009 |
| Game receiving yards | 336 | Flipper Anderson, Los Angeles Rams | At New Orleans, November 26, 1989; overtime |
| Game receiving touchdowns | 5 | Bob Shaw, Kellen Winslow and Jerry Rice | Three separate games, detailed below |
Rice’s career lead: much larger in yards than catches
Larry Fitzgerald finished second to Rice in both receptions, with 1,432, and receiving yards, with 17,492. That puts Rice ahead by 117 catches but 5,403 yards. Randy Moss is second in receiving touchdowns with 156, leaving Rice 41 ahead. Those gaps measure different things: catching volume, yardage production and scoring are not interchangeable. Source: NFL career receiving records.
Rice’s longevity mattered. He played 20 seasons for San Francisco, Oakland and Seattle, and recorded 14 seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards. His Hall of Fame biography also documents 11 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons beginning in 1986.
His 197 receiving touchdowns are distinct from his 208 total touchdowns scored. For that broader category—and the difference between scoring a touchdown and throwing one—see most touchdowns in NFL history.
Season records: three leaders, different achievements
Michael Thomas’s 149 catches in 2019 broke Marvin Harrison’s 143-reception mark from 2002. Thomas passed it with a game still remaining, then extended the record in the finale. PFF’s contemporary season review confirms both the final total and when he broke the record.
Calvin Johnson’s 1,964 yards in 2012 surpassed Rice’s 1,848-yard season from 1995. Johnson caught 122 passes that year—an important distinction from the receptions record. His achievement was total yardage, not the most catches. The Pro Football Hall of Fame records Johnson’s season mark and reception total.
Randy Moss’s 23 touchdown catches in 2007 surpassed Rice’s 22 in 1987. Moss helped New England finish the regular season 16–0. Rice’s earlier mark came in only 12 appearances, making it a striking example of why season totals and production per game answer different questions. Sources: Moss’s Hall of Fame biography and Rice’s 1987 game log.
Schedule length matters here. Thomas, Johnson and Moss set their records during the 16-game schedule era. The NFL expanded to 17 regular-season games in 2021, after moving to 16 in 1978. Source: Associated Press reporting on the expansion.
Cooper Kupp finished that first 17-game season with 145 catches and 1,947 yards—second in both categories, rather than a new record in either. Source: NFL season receiving records.
Single-game records: catches, yards and touchdowns
Brandon Marshall’s 21 receptions broke Terrell Owens’s 20-catch record. Marshall set the mark in Denver’s 28–16 loss at Indianapolis, as documented in the Broncos’ historical chronology.
Anderson’s yardage record tells a different story: he needed 15 catches to reach 336 yards in the Rams’ 20–17 overtime victory over New Orleans. With Henry Ellard sidelined by a hamstring injury, Anderson took on a larger role in the Rams’ offense. He caught a late touchdown to help force overtime, then contributed to the winning field-goal drive. The next day’s Los Angeles Times account documents the injury, the comeback and Anderson’s record night.
Overtime is included in the 336-yard record. Calvin Johnson’s 329 yards against Dallas on October 27, 2013, is the highest total in the record book’s list achieved without overtime; Anderson retains the overall single-game mark.
The five-touchdown receiving record is shared by:
- Bob Shaw: Chicago Cardinals against the Baltimore Colts, October 2, 1950.
- Kellen Winslow: San Diego Chargers against the Oakland Raiders, November 22, 1981.
- Jerry Rice: San Francisco 49ers against Atlanta, October 14, 1990.
These dates, the shared touchdown mark and the leading reception and yardage performances are documented in the NFL’s all-time receiving records.
A Super Bowl performance is not added to these regular-season totals. Rice’s 215 receiving yards in Super Bowl XXIII, for example, belongs to the league’s separate Super Bowl record section.