San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick had an unprecedented running performance, Denver’s Trindon Holliday had an unprecedented returning performance, and the Patriots keep winning games behind Tom Brady’s passing.
Kaepernick, Holliday and Brady all set NFL records over the weekend, which we’ll detail below:
Most rushing yards, quarterback, single game: Colin Kaepernick’s 181 rushing yards were the most ever for a quarterback in any NFL game, regular season or postseason. Of the Top 5 quarterback rushing games in NFL history prior to this weekend, three belonged to Michael Vick, one belonged to Tobin Rote of the 1951 Packers, and one was the 138-yard game by Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III in Week Six of the 2012 season.
Longest playoff punt return: Trindon Holliday’s 90-yard punt return touchdown in the first quarter against the Ravens was the longest punt return in NFL postseason history. The previous record for the longest punt return was held by Baltimore’s Jermaine Lewis, who had an 88-yard touchdown against the Steelers in the 2001 divisional round.
Longest playoff kickoff return: Holliday’s 104-yard kickoff return in the third quarter against the Ravens was the longest kickoff return in NFL postseason history. The previous record for the longest kickoff return was held by Atlanta’s Eric Weems, who had a 102-yard touchdown against the Packers in the 2010 divisional round.
Most combined kick return yards in a playoff game: Holliday’s 248 combined kick return yards were the most in NFL postseason history, breaking a record previously shared by Andre Coleman of the Chargers and Desmond Howard of the Packers, both of whom had 244 combined kick return yards in a game, both in Super Bowls. (Howard was MVP of the Packers’ Super Bowl XXXI win, while Coleman benefitted from getting a whole lot of chances to return kickoffs in the Chargers’ Super Bowl XXIX blowout loss to the 49ers.)
Most kick return touchdowns in a playoff game: Holliday became the first player in NFL history to have two touchdowns on kick returns in one playoff game.
Most career postseason wins by a starting quarterback: The Patriots are now 17-6 with Brady as their starter in the playoffs, moving Brady ahead of Joe Montana for the most wins ever by a starting quarterback in the postseason.
Most career postseason attempts and completions: Brady already owned both of these records, but on Saturday he became the first player in NFL history to surpass 800 playoff passes and complete 500 playoff passes. Brady has now completed 524 of 833 pass attempts in his NFL playoff career.