Falcons records that are unlikely to be broken: Andre Rison’s touchdown bonanza

Andre Rison is a big part of the Falcons history book, even if he doesn’t always come up immediately when you think of this franchise’s great receivers. He’s top 5 in receptions, yards, and touchdowns for the franchise, and his relatively brief time with the team was marked by genuine dominance.

While his numbers are fading into the rearview with Julio Jones now owning most every franchise record and Calvin Ridley flying up the board, Rison will always be a huge part of this franchise’s history. That’s particularly true because he has another one of those records that’s unlikely to be broken, like Jessie Tuggle’s career tackle mark, Michael Turner’s single game rushing record, and Scott Case’s incredible single season interception mark.

That’s the single season touchdown mark, which Rison set back into 1993 when he hauled in 15 touchdown grabs. He had four multi-touchdown games that season, piling up 3 on just 7 receptions against the 49ers and managing 2 against the Rams, Buccaneers, and 49ers again. Five touchdowns against one opponent is very impressive, as was Rison’s final line of 86 receptions, 1,242 yards, and those 15 touchdown grabs.

Why does this one feel so untouchable? Rison’s mark has been exceeded by just 20 players in NFL history, for starters, and no one’s come remotely close to breaking his record since he set it in 1993. The two guys immediately behind him are Alfred Jenkins (who grabbed 13 in 1981) and...Andre Rison, who had 12 in 1991. Only Roddy White (11 in 2009, 10 in 2010), Julio Jones (10 in 2012), and Calvin Ridley (10 in 2018) have come within a handful of touchdowns, and only Ridley post-Julio and with a quarterback less committed to spreading the wealth figures to stand a realistic chance of challenging Rison in the near future.

I expect this another record that will stand a long, long time.