In for the long haul: The Longest Touchdown Passes in the NFL

By Amanda Richardson

Welcome!

This is the first post of SportsVault, a blog that looks at the context of memorable sports moments.

Today we're opening the vault to this day (September 11) in 1999. Brett Farve and Robert Brooks, of the Green Bay Packers, completed a 99-yard touchdown to tie the record for longest touchdown pass in the National Football League.

Since then, the record has remained relatively untouched. There have been a few instances where interceptions or returns have resulted in longer touchdowns.

One such instance is Antonio Cromartie, then of the San Diego Chargers. He returned a missed field goal 109 yards for a touchdown in 2007. (1)

There are 17 records of touchdown scores that have come from more than 100 yards dating back to a Lions/Bears game in 1949! (1)

The statistics are clearly impressive, but let's take a closer look at how easy they would be to break or match.

A football field is 99 yards from endzone line to endzone line. This means, in order to break the record of 99 yards, the quarterback would have to be standing in the endzone. Since this will probably never happen given the way the game is played, it looks as if Mr. Farve is going to hold the top spot. If a quarterback did have the ability to throw that far, he could, at best, tie the record.

Now, how about Antonio Cromartie. He could see his record broken. When you include the endzones, a football field from out of bounds on one side to out of bounds on the other is 120 yards. Mathematically, this means there are 11 yards up for grabs. However, once a player crosses the end zone line, it becomes a touchdown. So in reality, there are only 110 yards, meaning there is only one extra yard available.  The probability of beating the record is low, but there is a chance it could happen given the right circumstances.

This situation brings up an interesting question about records. Sometimes they simply cannot be broken because there is nothing more. This is most likely the case with the Farve pass. It is almost impossible to break. If another player were to tie it, would he get to be the one associated with the record? In fact in this very instance, the 99-yard pass was a tie. The man who's original record was tied is relatively unknown. Even in ESPN's rating of Farve's top 10 career moments, there is no mention of who previously held the title. (2) If this trend continues, the next person to throw a 99-yard pass may "erase" Farve from the achievement. Is this fair? Should they all continue to hold the record or should just the most recent achievement get the glory?



Sources: 
Today In Sports History: September 11 http://goo.gl/iEyM9
(1)  Pro Football Hall of Fame: History Story: Reed rumbles 108 yards for NFL record ... http://goo.gl/3QXEB
(2) ESPN: Farve's Top 10 Career Moments http://goo.gl/6BCWG