Calvin Johnson needs 108 yards receiving vs. Bears to reach 2,000

Detroit Lions wide receiver has shattered NFL receiving records in 2012, but when Chicago Bears Pro Bowl cornerback Charles Tillman lined up across from him in Week 7, he looked a lot like a regular player on an NFL roster. Tillman and the Bears held Johnson to just 34 yards on three catches on Oct. 22, but in Week 17 Megatron will have plenty of motivation to excel on Sunday at Ford Field.

Johnson needs just 108 more receiving yards to crack the 2,000-yard mark for the season, which would make him the first NFL receiver to ever cross that threshold and only the seventh player ever to produce 2,000+ yards rushing or receiving in a single season.

Tillman knows it won't be easy to shut down Megatron twice in one season, and he even called Johnson "the LeBron James of football" in a recent interview, but the Bears are playing for their playoff life in this contest and shutting down Johnson will be a key to victory. Chicago needs a win over the Lions to stay alive in the playoff race, and then they would need the Green Bay Packers to defeat the Minnesota Vikings to ultimately shift into the postseason bracket.

In other words, Tillman isn't worried about receiving records (via the Chicago Sun-Times):

"I just have to worry about my game. I can't worry about him breaking records or anything...Records are made to be broken."

"Even if [Johnson] didn't need 108 yards, my mindset would be hold him to as few yards as possible, especially under 100 yards," Tillman said. "But it just so happens that he's chasing 2,000."

The Lions host the Bears in Week 17 at Ford Field (Noon CT, FOX).