6 NFL records that could be broken in Week 18

[touchdownwire.usatoday.com] 6 NFL records that could be broken in Week 18


(Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group illustration)
Thomas Neumann
January 5, 2022 8:55 am ET
We’re heading into Week 18 for the first time in NFL history, as the league celebrates what it has been marketing as its “biggest” season ever.

Not only does the addition of a 17th regular-season game push the date of Super Bowl XVI back to Feb. 13, the latest date ever for the big game, it also puts a number of single-season NFL records in jeopardy.

A few weeks ago, Touchdown Wire took stock of nine single-season records that could fall by season’s end.

Now, with just one regular-season game remaining for each team, we’re circling back to assess which of those marks are still within reach.

Passing yards
Tom Brady
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Current record: 5,477 (Peyton Manning, 2013)

Status: Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady still has a very slim chance to eclipse Manning’s record in this category. Brady enters Week 18 with 4,990 passing yards on the season, so he would need to compile 488 yards Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. Even if he plays the entire game, this is a long shot. Brady has only topped that figure once in his career — a 517-yard performance against the Miami Dolphins in 2011.

Outlook: Unlikely


Quarterback sacks
T.J. Watt
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt. (AP Photo/Matt Durisko)

Current record: 22½ (Michael Strahan, 2001)

Status: Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt recorded four sacks on Monday night against the Cleveland Browns to raise his season total to 21½. After that dominant performance, it’s reasonable to expect that Watt could tie or topple Strahan’s record Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. Watt has nine sacks in nine career games against the Ravens.

Outlook: Likely


Receiving yards
Cooper Kupp
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp. (Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports)

Current record: 1,964 (Calvin Johnson, 2012)

Status: Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp enters Week 18 with 1,829 receiving yards, a figure that would rank fifth in league history for a 16-game season. Although Kupp has said “it wouldn’t seem right” to set a single-season record in 17 games, he has a chance to do exactly that. Kupp needs 136 receiving yards Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers to break Johnson’s record. However, Kupp has averaged only 39.8 receiving yards per game in six career matchups against the 49ers.

Outlook: Possible


Receptions
Cooper Kupp
Cooper Kupp. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Current record: 149 (Michael Thomas, 2019)

Status: Kupp enters Week 18 with 138 receptions on the season, a figure that would rank third among single-season marks in a 16-game slate. He needs 12 catches to break Thomas’ mark from two years ago, but he’s only reached that figure once this season.

Outlook: Unlikely

Pass completions
Tom Brady
Tom Brady. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)

Current record: 471 (Drew Brees, 2016)

Status: Brady had completed 456 passes through 16 games. That leaves him 16 completions shy of a new single-season record. Considering that he has topped that figure in every game this season, there is an excellent chance he will add this to his collection of NFL superlatives when the Bucs oppose the Panthers on Sunday.

Outlook: Likely

Pass attempts
Tom Brady
Tom Brady. (AP Photo/Mark LoMoglio)

Current record: 727 (Matthew Stafford, 2012)

Status: Brady has attempted 682 passes through 16 games, leaving him 46 shy of a new record. He has thrown at least that many passes in seven games this season. However, the Bucs play host to the Panthers on Sunday, and Brady threw only 30 passes in Tampa Bay’s 32-6 win at Carolina in Week 16.

Outlook: Possible

Out of reach
Trevon Diggs
Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs. (Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports)

• Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs has enjoyed a terrific season with 11 interceptions, tying Everson Walls’ club record. Diggs will have a chance to set a new team record when the Cowboys play at the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. But he’s not going to catch Dick “Night Train” Lane, who established the NFL record of 14 picks in a season as a rookie in 1952 — in a 12-game schedule.

• New England Patriots kicker Nick Folk had an outside chance at breaking the league record for field goals in a single season when he totaled 33 through Week 14. But with just two field goals in the past three games, he’s not going to reach David Akers, who set the NFL record with 44 in 2011.

• The New Orleans Saints no longer have any challengers for the dubious NFL record of 7,042 yards surrendered in a single season. The Saints set the mark in 2012, allowing an average of 440.1 yards per game. The most porous defense in the league this season, belonging to the New York Jets, has allowed 6,336 yards through 16 games — an average of 396 per game.