NFL: 30 greatest seasons from players 30 and older

NFL: 30 greatest seasons from players 30 and older: 5. Jerry Rice, 1995

Of all the outstanding season’s Jerry Rice recorded throughout his remarkable 20-year career, 1995 might have been the most spectacular. At this point in his career, Rice had already put up nine straight seasons of over 1,000 receiving yards and was well on his way to crushing every all-time receiving record.

However, who would have predicted that he would have the success he did in his age-33 season. Most wide receivers start to falter by this stage of their careers and even some of the greats don’t last this long. Calvin Johnson, for example, retired after his age-30 season in which he recorded 88 catches, 1,214 yards, and 9 touchdowns. Other great receivers who choose to play well into their 30s normally experience a significant decline in efficiency and production. Not Jerry Rice.

Despite being 33-years-old, Rice had one of the best single-season outputs we have ever seen – earning 122 receptions, 1,848 yards, and 15 touchdowns. He did all of this while managing an impressive 15.1 yards per reception and a whopping 10.5 yards per target.

If not for 4,413 passing yards and 41 total touchdowns from Packer quarterback Brett Favre in the same year, Rice would have had a terrific shot at earning league MVP. Surprisingly, the NFL’s all-time leading receiver was never awarded that honor despite some spectacular seasons. At least walked away after two decades of play with three Super Bowl rings.