As he's done so many times before, Andre Johnson had 90 or more receiving yards in a game, and he continued his climb up the all-time list.
The longest-tenured Texan caught six passes for 93 yards in the victory over Washington, and in the process, moved past Hall of Famer Art Monk into 16th place on the all-time yardage list. Monk had 12,721 career receiving yards, and Johnson now has 12,754.
"When I came into this game, I never thought about being even in that category," Johnson said. "Coming in as a kid, you always say that you want to be the best, but you just want to come out and play football."
Johnson missed OTAs and minicamp during the spring, so he was a bit behind when he rejoined the team at the start of training camp. He showed no signs of rust on Sunday, however, as he led the team in both yards and catches. The victory, however, was the sweetest part of the day.
"It feels good just to win a game," Johnson said. "I knew when I came in I had a lot to learn. I had to play catch up, so I did it. I wanted to make sure I was ready to go opening day."
After the game, head coach Bill O'Brien singled out the Pro Bowler for praise, and described why.
"Andre Johnson is a guy who has put his heart and soul in to this organization and I'm happy for a guy like him and many others," O'Brien said.
Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was asked about his chemistry with Johnson, but quickly gave the credit to the All Pro.
"I contribute the chemistry really to Andre being a great receiver," Fitzpatrick said. "He's a quarterback's dream in terms of being in the right spot at the right time."
Next up on the career yardage list is Irving Fryar, who's in 15th place with 12,785 yards. With 32 yards, Johnson will pass him.
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