Little Known Record Holders: Pt. 2 Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The average player career in the NFL is anywhere between 3-9 seasons. However, I bucked the trend by playing for 24 seasons, even though that was not the record for seasons played. However, I was fortunate enough to play when the NFL regular season was 16 games long (except for 2 strike-shortened seasons), and due to this, I set the record for becoming the first person ever to play in over 360 games in a career.

Answer: Morten Andersen

George Blanda may have played for 26 seasons during his career, but since Andersen played more games during the seasons that he played, he set the record for games played in a career. When he retired following the 2006 season, Andersen held several records from most field goals in a career, most points in a career, most consecutive games with a point, etc.

2. During my 14-year career, I played for 3 different teams, all of which realized that I wasn't a very effective running back or wide receiver. Instead, they found that I was a much better punt and kick returner. Along with my 607 kick returns for over 14,000 yards, I set the record for becoming the first person to return over 400 punts, for a total of 4,999 yards.

Answer: Brian Mitchell

When Mitchell retired following the 2003 season, he led the career mark for punt returns by over 100 returns (Eric Metcalf finished with 351), punt return yards by over 1,000 yards, kickoff returns by over 150 returns, and kickoff return yards by almost 4,000 yards.

As a running back and wide receiver, Mitchell amassed only 4,303 yards, and yet still scored 3 more touchdowns from those positions than he did as a returner (16 running/receiving compared to 13 returning).

3. After a lackluster rookie season, I decided to come in for my sophomore year at the top of my game. As the leader of my team at the quarterback position, I felt it was my job to heave the ball up as many times as possible during the season. The strategy worked, and from my rookie to second season we doubled our wins. In that second season, I set the record for becoming the first person to have over 675 pass attempts in a single season.

Answer: Drew Bledsoe

The 1994 New England Patriots had an impressive 10-6 record, though they would lose in the first round of the playoffs to the Cleveland Browns 20-13. Drew Bledsoe had 691 pass attempts that season, completing exactly 400 passes. He would finish the season with 25 touchdowns, 27 interceptions, and 4,555 yards.

The very next season Bledsoe would throw 636 times, though his numbers would drop dramatically. In 1995, he would throw for 13 touchdowns, 16 interceptions, and 3,507 yards while the Patriots went 6-10.

4. In an overtime game against the New Orleans Saints, my team relied on me much more than usual. In that week 12 win at New Orleans, I compiled nearly 30% of my entire season's receiving yards. During my 10 NFL seasons, I never had a game near that day, where I set the record for becoming the first person to gain over 325 receiving yards in a single game.

Answer: Willie Anderson

Willie "Flipper" Anderson caught only 44 passes during the 1989 season for 1,146 yards, leading to an astounding 26 average yards per catch. That season, Anderson's second in the NFL, would be the best of his career, and the first of only 2 seasons where he would compile over 1,000 yards.

The next year he would go for 1,097 yards, then sharply fell off in 1991 with only 530 yards in 12 games. In his last season for the Los Angeles Rams, he would catch 46 passes for 945 yards. Following that, he would spend the next 3 seasons with 3 different teams and catch 8 total passes for 111 yards, all with the Indianapolis Colts.

5. Of all the positions in the NFL, the punter is perhaps the least appreciated. His only job (barring a fake) is to give the other team the ball, something no fan wants to happen. When handing the ball over to the opposition, I am the player that any team has turned to the most during a single career. I became the first person in NFL history to punt the ball over 1,500 times in a career.

Answer: Jeff Feagles

Jeff Feagles made his 1,500th career punt during the 2006 NFL season, the first time any punter had done so. Before Feagles, only Sean Landeta had over 1,400 punts, with 1,401. Lee Johnson retired with 1,226 punts in 2002, and Ray Guy finished with 1,049 in 1986.

6. Whenever a touchdown is scored, fans naturally assume that they will eventually end up with 7 points. However, it is still the kicker's job to put that extra point through the goalposts, or otherwise it is a great disappointment. Over the course of my career, I had plenty of chances for extra points, and I converted the vast majority of them. I became the first person ever to kick over 900 extra points in a career.

Answer: George Blanda

George Blanda played for 26 seasons in the NFL and AFL, and in that time played kicker, linebacker, punter, and quarterback. While setting several other NFL records, he also kicked 943 extra points. In 24 seasons as only a kicker, Morten Andersen kicked a mere 825, even though playing while the NFL regular season was 16 games long. Blanda had the ability to throw the ball into the end zone, kick the extra point, and then try to get the ball back on defense.

His versatility goes unmatched in the modern NFL.

7. When a quarterback throws a ball into the air, he does so with the intention that his own player will catch it. I did my best to make sure this did not happen, and over my career became a prolific safety with my ability to intercept the ball. With this ability, I set the NFL record for becoming the first person to intercept over 80 passes in a career.

Answer: Paul Krause

Paul Krause started out in his rookie season by intercepting 12 passes in only 14 games for the Washington Redskins in 1964. Fifteen seasons later, after playing only 3 more years with Washington and the rest with Minnesota, he would catch a total of 69 more interceptions, leaving him with a total of 81.

However, Krause did not pile on his stats at the beginning of his career. In fact, his second biggest season was his 12th in the league, when Krause was 33 years old. That season, he intercepted 10 passes.

While Rod Woodson and Deion Sanders also returned punts and/or kicks during their careers, Krause specialized at being a safety, and did it amazingly well.

8. After a team scores, they must then kick off to their opponents to give them a fair chance to come back and redeem the points they had just lost. My team was a little worse than most. We went 3-13 with a defense that ranked second to last while our offense was third to last. In fact, the only positive to come out was my play, when I set the NFL record for becoming the first person to return over 80 kicks in a single season.

Answer: MarTay Jenkins

MarTay Jenkins played only 4 seasons in the NFL, but made his mark in his sophomore campaign by returning 82 kickoffs for 2,186 yards and 1 touchdown. The Arizona Cardinals ranked at #30 out of 31 teams in points allowed, while ranking at #29 out of 31 teams in points scored.

Their opposition had plenty of chances to kick off to Jenkins, and he took the most out of the opportunities he was given.

9. Kick returners have the possibility to make the highlight reel every single time they touch the ball. However, all 11 men on the other team focus in on him alone to bring him down before he goes anywhere. I was one of the most consistently successful kick returners in NFL history, becoming the first person to retire with an average kick return of above 30 yards a return (minimum 75 returns).

Answer: Gale Sayers

Gale Sayers could have been one of the greatest running backs of all-time, but his career was cut short in 1968 when he tore several ligaments in his right knee. Two years later he would also injure his left knee, and retired from the NFL. Even though Sayers only played 5 seasons where he contributed significantly to the Chicago Bears, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1977.

He was equally as successful as a kick returner, where over 91 returns Sayers averaged 30.6 yards per return, and a total of 6 touchdown returns.

10. Whenever a pass is intercepted, everyone on the offense is suddenly turned into a defensive player, where their only job is to tackle the man with the ball. However, many of them do not have defensive instincts, and there is always a chance for a big return. Over my entire career, I had great success in avoiding the offensive players after I intercepted the ball, and set the record for becoming the first player ever to return 10 interceptions for touchdowns in a career.

Answer: Rod Woodson

Rod Woodson played for 17 seasons in the NFL for 4 different teams- the Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Ravens, and Oakland Raiders. The most interceptions he ever had in a season was 8 for both Oakland and Pittsburgh, but his job was also to return them as far as he could. Woodson returned 12 interceptions for touchdowns in his career, leading to his ranking of #87 on "The Sporting News" list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.

Source: Author illiniman14

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Nightmare before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Some players set records that we would hardly even know about had there not been statisticians working the numbers for years. Here, those little known record holders finally get their due.

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