Jake Reed and Cris Carter were the only pair from the same team who had over 70 catches and 1,150 receiving yards each in ‘96. They also are the only duo from the same team in NFL history to top 1,000 receiving yards for three straight seasons.
Carter has the second longest streak of games with a reception in team history at 83. He caught a touchdown pass in each of the last five games, tying his team record from ‘95. In the NFL in ‘96 he finished fifth in catches (96), tied for fifth in touchdown catches (10) and ranked 10th in receiving yards with 1,117, giving him a team-record fourth straight 1,000-yard season. He also led the team in third-down catches for a first down with 24 and had a team-high 10 catches for 30-or-more yards last season. Carter holds team career marks for catches (578) and touchdown receptions (57) and is second on the team’s all-time yardage list (6,917). On the NFL’s all-time list he is ninth in catches (667) and tied for 12th in touchdown receptions (76) with Fred Biletnikoff and Harold Jackson.
Reed finished second in the NFL in receiving yards with a career-high 1,320 yards, 51 yards from the team record and just 18 shy of league leader Isaac Bruce of St. Louis. Reed finished third in the NFL in yards per catch (18.3 avg.) and 10th in the NFC in catches (72). Reed had the Vikings’ two longest plays of the year, including the 82-yard touchdown catch in Oakland (10/17) that was the fifth longest reception in team history and the longest in the NFC this season. He also had a career-high and team season-high four 100-yard receiving days in ‘96.
| Rank | Team | Catches | Players | Yards |
| 1. | Detroit | 200 | Herman Moore (106) | Brett Perriman (94) | 2,316 |
| 2. | Minnesota | 168 | Cris Carter (96) | Jake Reed (72) | 2,483 |
| 2. | Jacksonville | 168 | Keenan McCardell (85) | Jimmy Smith (83) | 2,373 |
| 4. | Cincinnati | 158 | Carl Pickens (100) | Darnay Scott (58) | 2,013 |
| 4. | Philadelphia | 158 | Irving Fryar (88) | Chris T. Jones (70) | 2,054 |
A pair of backs
After losing Robert Smith to a season-ending knee injury against Chicago on October 28, the Vikings signed Leroy Hoard on November 5. Minnesota was 5-2 before Smith was hurt and 4-2 with Hoard in the starting lineup for the final six games of the season.
At the time of his injury, Smith was averaging 99.0 rushing yards per game, which put him on a pace to 1,584 for the season. That total not only would have led the NFL in 1996, but would have been the fifth best rushing season in the league since 1990. Coming into that Bears’ game in which he was injured, Smith had rushed for over 100 yards in back-to-back games, including a career-high 133 yards at Tampa Bay (10/13). Following that effort against the Buccaneers, he was leading the league in rushing.
In his six starts Hoard rushed for 420 yards, which projects out to 1,120 over a full season. He had two 100-yard efforts (108 @ Oak; 101 vs. T.B.) and a 94-yard game (vs. Ariz.). Against the Buccaneers (12/15) he had two rushing touchdowns for the first time since ‘94 vs. Houston. His teams are 9-0 during his career, including 3-0 with Minnesota, when he carries the ball 20-or-more times in a game.
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