Through week #8 of the 2012 NFL season, Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford have yet to hook up for a touchdown.
Last season, the Detroit Lions’ dynamic pitch-and-catch duo of Matthew Stafford to Calvin Johnson accounted for a league-high 16 touchdowns. Include the two Stafford-to-Megatron TD tosses in the opening-round playoff loss to New Orleans, and the pair hooked up 18 times in 17 games.
But this season? Meh.
Through eight games – a full half-season – Johnson has reached pay dirt but once, and that was on a throw from back-up Shawn Hill in the wild overtime loss at Tennessee. There’s a long way to go, though, and it’s just a matter of time before Stafford and Johnson continue their march to becoming the most prolific quarterback-receiver duo – at least in terms of touchdowns – in Lions history.
To date, Stafford has connected with Johnson for 25 regular-season touchdowns over four seasons. That’s better than any Lions duo except Scott Mitchell-to-Herman Moore, who combined for 35 TDs during their five seasons together.
Here are the most lethal pass-catch combinations in Lions history:
TDs Quarterback-Receiver (Seasons)
35 Scott Mitchell to Herman Moore (1994-98)
25 Matthew Stafford to Calvin Johnson (2009-12)
23 Bobby Layne to Leon Hart (1950-57)
21 Bobby Layne to Cloyce Box (1950-53)
20 Earl Morrall to Terry Barr (1960-64)
20 Greg Landry to Charlie Sanders (1969-78)