A Titans Great Tops NFL Christmas List

Derrick Mason racked up more receiving yards on Dec. 25 than any player in history.

Derrick Mason was a gift who kept on giving for the Tennessee Titans – and one other NFL franchise.

A fourth-round draft pick in 1997, he grew into a Pro Bowl return man (2000) and then a Pro Bowl wide receiver (2003) with Tennessee. He caught more passes during the Titans era than anyone else and set an NFL record with 2,690 all-purpose yards in 2000 (since broken).

And when it came to playing on Christmas, he is unsurpassed by anyone, anywhere in the NFL.

Mason is the NFL’s all-time leader in receiving yards on Christmas Day with 263. He played in three such contests, two with the Titans (2000, 2004) and one with the Baltimore Ravens (2005).

The only other player with more than 200 is Kevin Williams of the Dallas Cowboys. Williams had a career-high 203 yards on nine receptions in a 1995 victory over Arizona, the only time he played on Dec. 25.

Of the top five, Mason is the only one who played more than once on Christmas. All three of his were home games for the team on which he played at the time. Twice he was on the winning side.

A game-by-game look at Derrick Mason’s Christmas Day performances:

Season	Opponent	Rec.	Yards	TDs	Result
2000	vs. Dallas	6	95	1	Titans 31, Cowboys 0
2004	vs. Denver	4	65	0	Broncos 37, Titans 16
2005	vs. Minnesota	9	103	1	Ravens 30, Vikings 23

The Titans/Oilers have played in four Christmas games, tied with the Dallas Cowboys for the most in NFL history. They beat the Cowboys 31-0 on Christmas night in 2000. Mason scored the game’s first points on a 17-yard touchdown reception that capped a 74-yard drive.

Tennessee lost 37-16 to the Denver Broncos in 2004 and fell 42-17 to the San Diego Chargers in a 2009 Friday night contest that kicked off that week’s schedule. In 1993, the then-Houston Oilers beat San Francisco 10-7.

In 2005 with Baltimore, Mason caught a 39-yard touchdown pass 13 seconds into the fourth quarter that put the Ravens ahead to stay in a victory over Minnesota.

This year, the New Orleans Saints (10-4) host the Minnesota Vikings (6-8) in the NFL’s first Christmas Day game since 2017, when the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Oakland Raiders 19-10.