Calvin Johnson has 329 yards against Cowboys, 2nd-most of all-time

Not only did the Lions pull off a stunning win, but Johnson went off in historic fashion against Dallas. How does his game rank against the best ever?

By Kenneth Arthur@KennethArthuRS Oct 27, 2013, 4:34pm EDT

Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson is no stranger to records, having set the single-season receiving yardage record a year ago, but he set his sights on the single-game record on Sunday against Dallas. Johnson had 14 catches for 329 yards against the Cowboys in Week 8, which put him just seven yards shy of the all-time single-game record.

The Lions also ended up winning a thriller, beating Dallas 31-30 on a last-second quarterback keeper by Matthew Stafford that was setup by a long play to Johnson.

Flipper Anderson still holds the record after putting up 336 receiving yards with the St. Louis Rams in 1989. Anderson had a phenomenal 26 yards per catch that season, but never made a Pro Bowl and mostly faded into obscurity over the rest of his career. The third-highest single-game receiving total of all-time is also held by a player most people don't think of when they think of receiving records. The Chiefs' Stephone Paige had 309 yards against the Chargers in a game in 1985.

Those two and Johnson are now the only three players to ever top 300 receiving yards in a single game.

For Johnson, he is the type that you'd expect to have games like this. It is his fifth career game over 200 yards and his first of this season. He had three such games last year when he led the league with 1,964 yards. He hasn't been on the same pace in 2013, but after his monster game against the Cowboys, his numbers are right back on track.

Johnson now has 821 yards through seven games. His previous single-game best was 244 yards.