As most know, the NFL is home to a ton of talent from Florida each and every season. The 2016 season has been no different.
Over the course of the season records and milestones have been broken, with some of these very athletes from Florida taking part of writing the next page in the record books.
Here is a look at just what some of the talented players from the Sunshine State have done over the last 17 weeks.
- In Week 10 Denver Broncos rookie Justin Simmons (Martin County) blocked an extra point attempt with just over one minute left and was returned by rookie teammate Will Parks for the game-winning two-point conversion. It was the first time that a team won a game on a defensive two-point conversion since the rule was adopted in 2015. It also marked the first time the defensive two-point conversion gave a team the lead.
- Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (Miami Springs) led the NFL this season with 1,448 receiving yards and has had four seasons with a least 1,000 receiving yards, the third-most in Indianapolis franchise history.
- Quarterback Blake Bortles (Oviedo) of the Jacksonville Jaguars and teammate, receiver Marqise Lee became the first pair of teammates in FL history to throw touchdown passes of at least 20 years to each other in the same game.
- Minnesota Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes (Miami Norland) had a 100-yard interception return touchdown in Week 11 which joined a 104-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by teammate Cordarrelle Patterson. The Vikings were the first team since the 1962 Dallas Cowboys to accomplish both feats in the same game.
- New England Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount (Taylor County) set a franchise record with 18 rushing touchdowns during the season.
- Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (Lakewood Ranch) of the New York Giants along with fellow teammate Landon Collins both recorded two interceptions in the same game back in Week 7. They became the first duo in the franchise since 1986 to accomplish the feat.
- New York Jets running back Bilal Powell (Lake Gibson) along with teammate Matt Forté each rushed for 1,000-plus yards from scrimmage, marking the first duo in Jets franchise history to do so.
- Wide receiver Amari Cooper (Miami Northwestern) along with teammate Michael Crabtree become the first Oakland duo of receivers since 2001 to have 1,000-plus yards of receiving in the same season. Cooper had 83 receptions, 1,153 yards, and five touchdown catches, becoming the third player in NFL history to have at least 70 receptions, 1,000 yards, and five touchdown catches in each of his first two career seasons.
- Kicker Caleb Sturgis (St. Augustine) of the Philadelphia Eagles made 35 field goals, setting the franchise record for most field goals in a single season.
- Pittsburg Steelers quarterback Ben Rothlisberger along with wide receiver Antonio Brown (Miami Norland) have combined for 50 touchdown passes, surpassing the duo of Terry Bradshaw and Lynn Swan for most touchdown passes from a quarterback to receiver in Steelers history. Brown is ranked second in the league with 106 catches during the season and has 481 receptions over the last four seasons. Brown also has had four consecutive seasons with at least 100 receptions, tying Marvin Harrison for the most consecutive 100-catch seasons in NFL history. On top of all of that, Brown reached 600 career receptions in Week 11 which marked his 96th career game, the fewest games to reach the milestone in NFL history.
- Rookie defensive end Joey Bosa (St. Thomas Aquinas) became the first Chargers rookie to record 10 or more sacks since 2005. Bosa had 10.5 sacks for the 2016 season. He also led all rookies with most sacks, the highest total by a rookie since 2011.
- Wide receiver Anquan Boldin (Pahokee) of the Detriot Lions had eight touchdown catches during the season becoming the second player in NFL history to have at least 1,000 career receptions and record a touchdown catch with four different teams. Boldin also became the fourth player in NFL history to have a season with at least five touchdown receptions with four different teams. Also, Boldin played in his 200th career NFL game in Week 15, his 1,067 career receptions are the fourth-most in a player’s first 200 games.
- Indianapolis Colts running back Frank Gore (Coral Gables) moved into eighth place on the all-time rushing list with 13,065 career yards. On top of that, he rushed for 1,025 yards, his ninth career season with at least 1,000 yards, the fifth-most of all-time. Gore also becomes the fifth player in NFL history to have at least 12,500 rushing yards (13,065) and 400 receptions (414) while becoming the first player in NFL history to have 11 consecutive seasons with 1,200-plus scrimmage yards.
- Sebastian Jankowski (Seabreeze) kicker for the Oakland Raiders has made 55 career 50-plus yard field goals surpassing Jason Hanson (52) for the most in NFL history.
- Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul (Deerfield Beach) had a career-high three sacks, forced a fumble and a 43-yard fumble return touchdown in Week 12, becoming the first player with at least three sacks and a fumble return touchdown of at least 40 yards in the same game since 1982.
- Detriot Lions kicker Matt Prater (Estero), converted a 58-yard field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter to force overtime in Detriot’s 22-16 win at Minnesota Week 9. It marked the second-longest game-tying field goal in the final minute of the fourth quarter in NFL history.
- Denver Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian (Olympia) become the first player in NFL history to pass for at least 300 yards and four touchdowns without an interception in his first career road start.
Information provided by NFL Communications.
