Rice Ran Away From The Field With Grace

To commemorate USA TODAY's 25th anniversary, a panel of USA TODAY's NFL reporters and editors has produced an anthology of the 25 best NFL players of the past 25 years. Coming Monday, they will reveal the No. 1 player:

• No. 2 Jerry Rice

Jerry Rice, the only player in NFL history to score 200 touchdowns and a man who raised the bar for many records to new heights, is No. 2 on USA TODAY's list.

Called "the greatest player to ever play the game" by his former San Francisco offensive coordinator and current Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, Rice left the NFL prior to the 2005 season with 38 records. During his 20-year career, Rice, who came to refer to himself as the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), won three Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers and caught a pass in 274 consecutive games, a phenomenal streak that stretched from his rookie season in 1985 until early in his final campaign in 2004.

"He worked so hard to run the offense," his former teammate, quarterback Steve Young, said of playing with Rice. "It was built for guys like him. It was timing. It was artistry. It wasn't just 'Hey go out there and get open.' " Young and Rice connected for 85 touchdowns, which was an NFL record for a quarterback-receiver tandem before the Colts' Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison eclipsed the mark in 2005.

Rice didn't just break many of the records he now holds, he obliterated them. He passed Jim Brown's mark of 126 total touchdowns to become the all-time leader in 1994, then extended the mark by 81 scores over the next 11 seasons. His mark of 1,549 career receptions is 448 more than Cris Carter, who is second with 1,101.

LEAVING THE REST IN THE DUST
How far Jerry Rice stands ahead of his closes challenger in selected NFL records:
TOUCHDOWNS
No. 1
Jerry Rice, 208
No. 2
Emmitt Smith, 175
CAREER RECEPTIONS
No. 1
Jerry Rice, 1,549
No. 2
Cris Carter, 1,101
RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS
No. 1
Jerry Rice, 197
No. 2
Cris Carter, 130
CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH A RECEPTION
No. 1
Jerry Rice, 274
No. 2
Art Monk, 183
CAREER RECEIVING YARDS
No. 1
Jerry Rice, 22,895
No. 2
Tim Brown, 14,934
SEASONS WITH 1,000 YARDS RECEIVING
No. 1
Jerry Rice, 14
No. 2
Tim Brown and Jimmy Smith, 9
GAMES WITH 100 YARDS RECEIVING
No. 1
Jerry Rice, 76
No. 2
Marvin Harrison, 59
YARDS FROM SCRIMMAGE
No. 1
Jerry Rice, 23,540
No. 2
Emmitt Smith, 21,579
RECEIVING YARDS IN ONE SEASON
No. 1
Jerry Rice, 1,848
No. 2
Isaac Bruce, 1,781

Part of what elevated Rice to his superior level for such a long time was not just his great hands and football savvy, but also his superior conditioning. He had a rigorous offseason workout program that kept him in step with his younger competitors. A mark of his durability, Rice recovered from two torn knee ligaments in the 1997 opener to return for the season's final game when he taught a touchdown. Then, as late as 2002 at the age of 40, Rice caught 92 passes for 1,211 yards.

"Jerry always told me that he never played the perfect game," his former 49ers teammate, defensive back Ronnie Lott, said of Rice when the receiver retired. "In his mind, that's a lofty deal. A lot of people would take a few of his games as perfection."

His Super Bowl success was a hallmark of Rice's career. The MVP of San Francisco's 20-16 win over Cincinnati in Super Bowl XXIII, Rice caught 11 passes for a Super Bowl-record 215 yards and one touchdown in the game. He was also an integral part of the 49ers' game-winning, 92-yard touchdown drive in the final minute.

Rice left the 49ers after the 2000 season and played parts of four seasons in Oakland, whom he helped lead to an AFC championship in 2002. By 2004 his role had diminished, and in October of that season the Raiders traded Rice to Seattle, for whom the legendary receiver played his final game. He attempted to join the Broncos for the 2005 season, but retired prior to the opener when Shanahan told him he wouldn't be more than a fourth option at receiver.