preseason. There was talk that the seriousness of the injury could keep him out of action for a considerable time. On September 5, Witten battled back and was able to play in the season opener, catching two passes for 10 yards in a 24–17 victory over the New York Giants. Witten's availability for the game was in question due to the spleen injury he suffered during the preseason, but he was active for the game after being medically cleared to play. During Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks, Witten caught four passes for 58 yards. He finished the game with 702 career receptions to become just the second player in franchise history to reach 700 catches and the third tight end in NFL history to do so. Witten became the fastest tight end to reach 700 catches, reaching the milestone in 145 games. Witten became the youngest wide receiver/tight end to reach 700 catches at 30 years and 133 days. This record was later broken in Week 3 by Cardinals' wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald who totaled 707 career catches with 29 years, 23 days. His 58-yard performance gave him 7,977 receiving yards for his career passing former Cowboy Jackie Smith for fourth all-time in receiving yards among tight ends. After Week 3, Witten passed Ozzie Newsome for third place all-time in receiving yards among tight ends. In Week 8, a 29–24 loss to the New York Giants, Witten caught a career-high 18 passes for a career-high 167 yards. This is also a record for receptions by a tight end; the previous record of 15 receptions was set by Kellen Winslow in 1984. On November 4, in Week 9 against the Atlanta Falcons, Witten set the Cowboys' all-time receptions record of 754, surpassing Michael Irvin's previous record of 750. On December 23, in Week 16 against the New Orleans Saints, Witten set the NFL single-season record for receptions by a tight end (103), breaking the previous record of 102 receptions, which had been set by Tony Gonzalez in 2004. He extended the record to 110 in the season finale. On December 26, Witten was selected to his eighth Pro Bowl. For the second time in his career, Witten was nominated for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, this time winning the award and the $25,000 donation to his charity. Overall, he finished the 2012 season with 110 receptions for