Welcome to summer!
Today, June 21, marks the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year and the beginning of summer for those of us north of the equator.
While NFL players enjoy their summer break that lasts until the end of July when training camp begins, NFL Research compiled a list of fun, notable factoids of the NFL's "longests" to mark this day.
Let's dive in:
Longest Games & Streaks in NFL History
Longest winning streak: New England Patriots, 21 games -- Week 5, 2003 to Week 7, 2004 (including SB XXXVIII vs Panthers).
Longest losing streak: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 26 games -- Week 1, 1976 to Week 12, 1977.
Longest NFL career: QB/K George Blanda, 26 seasons with Chicago (10), Houston (7), and Oakland (9) -- 53-50-1 career record as a QB, 26,920 career passing yards, made 335 field goals and converted 943 of 959 PATs.
Longest Plays in NFL History
Longest field goal: Denver's Matt Prater 64-yard field goal -- Week 14, 2013 in 51-28 Broncos win vs Titans.
Longest run: Dallas RB Tony Dorsett and Tennessee RB Derrick Henry 99-yard run -- Dorsett: 99-yard TD run vs Vikings in Week 17, 1983; Henry: 99-yard TD run vs Jaguars in Week 14, 2018.
Longest pass: 13 instances of 99-yard pass. Notables: Eli Manning to Victor Cruz (Wk 16, 2011), Tom Brady to Wes Welker (Wk 1, 2011), Brett Favre to Robert Brooks (Wk 2, 1995).
Longest INT return: Baltimore safety Ed Reed 107-yard INT return -- Week 12, 2008 in 36-7 win vs. Eagles.
Longest punt: New York Jets' Steve O'Neal 98-yard punt -- Week 2, 1969 in 21-19 Jets loss vs. Broncos.
Longest punt return: Los Angeles Rams CB Robert Bailey 103-yard punt return -- Week 8, 1994 in 37-34 loss vs. Saints.
Longest kickoff return: Minnesota Vikings' Cordarrelle Patterson 109-kickoff return -- Week 8, 2013 in 44-31 loss vs. Packers.
2018 Season "Longests" from Next Gen Stats
Longest distance covered as a ball-carrier on a single play: Oakland Raiders return specialist Dwayne Harris covered 157.5 total yards on a 99-yard punt return TD in Week 16.
Longest completion by air distance: Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen threw the ball 63.9 yards as the crow flies on a 57-yard completion to Zay Jones in Week 2.
Longest scramble distance before a throw: Jets' Sam Darnold scrambled for 46.8 yards behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a 7-yard TD to Robby Anderson in Week 14.
Longest time to throw: Houston TexansDeshaun Watson took 13.3 seconds before throwing a 31-yard completion to DeAndre Hopkins in Week 2 -- more than 3 seconds longer than the next-longest time to throw last season.
