Tyreek Hill got off to a blistering start in the 2023 season. And much like last year with both Hill and Justin Jefferson, the questions began to emerge as to whether either could come up with the necessary yardage to reach Calvin Johnson's single-season receiving yardage record or even get to 2,000. Neither came within 100 yards of Johnson's record.
Hill is making a push again. And unlike last year, his pace has not trailed off much. A 62-yard game against the Chiefs in Week 9 appeared briefly to hinder his chances of catching Johnson and 2,000 yards, but he's since bounced back with two-straight 100-yard games.
On Sunday, he made it three-straight 100-yard games. Hill was a major factor in the Dolphins' 45-15 thrashing of the Commanders as Miami posted its latest dominating effort over teams with a losing record.
Reaching the lofty goals of setting the single-season receiving record and reaching 2,000 yards won't come easy. But Hill remains on track to do so in 2023.
MORE: Tracking Tyreek Hill's receiving yards pace
How did he do on Sunday? Here's what you need to know.
Tyreek Hill stats today
Hill had another outstanding game on Sunday, hauling in five of seven targets for 157 receiving yards, including a pair of touchdowns.
As is often the case, Hill was a major threat in the deep game. He twice caught passes past 20 yards down the field and twice finished them off with touchdowns of 78 yards and 60 yards.
The performance wound up putting Hill into historic territory. Through his first 12 games of the season, he has 1,481 receiving yards, trailing only Charley Hennigan (1,623 in 1961) and Elroy Hirsch (1,495 in 1951).
And according to the NFL, he's only the fifth player in league history to have five or more games with 150-plus receiving yards in a single season.
Today marked @cheetah's 5th game this season with 150+ receiving yards, becoming the 5th player in @NFL history with 5 such games in a season.
— NFL345 (@NFL345) December 3, 2023
Hill now has 1,481 receiving yards this season, the most by a player in his team's 1st 12 games of a season in the Super Bowl era. pic.twitter.com/DsQhQjEcYg
Tyreek Hill 2,000 yards chances
No player in NFL history has logged 2,000 receiving yards in a single season. Calvin Johnson set the single-season receiving yardage mark with 1,964 back in 2012.
But Hill has something Johnson did not have: a 17th game. And Hill could be in line to take full advantage. Hill is already ahead of Johnson's mark through the first 13 weeks of the season, as Johnson had 1,428 receiving yards to Hill's 1,481.
Sporting News' projection model, which simulates Hill's season 20,000 times and tallies each of the outcomes, currently gives Hill a 39.8 percent chance to surpass Johnson's record and a 30.3 percent chance to reach 2,000 receiving yards in total.
Here's a look at his simulated outcomes:
Hill still has some work to do to set the record. Johnson averaged a whopping 134 yards per game over his final four games of the season to finish with 1,964. But Hill appears set to be the closest challenger to Johnson in several years.
