The 2022 NFL regular season will conclude by the end of this weekend, 18 teams preparing to head home for the offseason as the remaining 14 clubs advance to the playoffs in pursuit of a Super Bowl 57 berth and, ultimately, the Lombardi Trophy.
But before postseason analysis begins in earnest, the finale – as the league completes its second 17-game regular season – could provide a few revisions to the record book. The extra game for 30 teams – stats from the suspended and ultimately canceled Week 17 Bills-Bengals game won’t count – could surely benefit several players, but no asterisks here.
One standard that won’t fall is rushing yards by a quarterback in one year. The Chicago Bears’ Justin Fields needed 64 more to pass Lamar Jackson, who racked up 1,206 in 2019. But a hip injury will keep Fields sidelined Sunday.
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But here are nine single-season records that could be broken:
Gross punting average
Tennessee Titans rookie Ryan Stonehouse is averaging a mind-boggling 53.0 yards per punt and would be hard pressed to not enter the record book. Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh set the current bar at 51.4 yards per punt in 1940. (The rookie record was set four years ago by the Seattle Seahawks’ Michael Dickson at 48.2.)
Passes attempted and completed
Though the NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers are locked into the conference’s No. 4 playoff slot, QB Tom Brady has expressed a desire to play Sunday. If he throws a dozen passes, he’d break Matthew Stafford’s decade-old mark (727). Complete nine, and TB12 tops the record of 485 – which he set in 2021.
Passing yards
Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes leads the league with 5,048 yards through the air, making him just the third player ever to top 5,000 multiple times. He needs 50 to surpass his career high … and 430 to snap Peyton Manning’s mark (5,477) established in 2013. Mahomes has passed for more than 430 yards five times in his six-year career, and K.C. needs to beat the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday to clinch the AFC’s top playoff seed.
Receiving yards
Justin Jefferson’s 1,771 yards are currently the seventh-highest total in league history. He’d need 194 Sunday to bypass Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson (1,964 yards in 2012) and would need 229 to become the first to reach 2,000 yards. Jefferson had a 223-yard game last month, however he only had one catch for 15 yards in a Week 17 loss at Green Bay. His playoff-bound and third-seeded Minnesota Vikings likely won’t improve their position, so it remains to be seen just how much Jefferson plays.
Receiving yards by a tight end
The Chiefs’ Travis Kelce needs 117 yards Saturday to break his own 2-year-old record (1,416 yards). He has four of the top 11 receiving yard seasons for a tight end in league annals. If he gets the record, Kelce would also become the first tight end with seven 100-yard games in one season. His seven 1,000-yard campaigns are easily the most at his position.
Receptions by a running back
The Los Angeles Chargers’ Austin Ekeler is just the sixth back to reach the century mark (103) for catches in a season. He would need 14 more Sunday to beat out Christian McCaffrey (116 in 2019). Unlikely by any measure, especially given the probability the Bolts won’t give Ekeler many (if any) snaps with a wild-card game looming next weekend. But he has caught 15 passes in a game before. Additionally, Ekeler can join Hall of Famer Lenny Moore as the only players with 30 TDs both rushing and receiving in their first six seasons if he catches one more. Ekeler needs two TDs to reach 20 for the second consecutive season.
Rushing TDs by a team
The Philadelphia Eagles have scored a league-best 31 touchdowns on the ground this season and need six more to best the 1962 Green Bay Packers. However Philly only has one rushing score in the two games missed by QB Jalen Hurts, who leads the team with 13 TDs with his legs. The 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers have the most rushing TDs (33) in the Super Bowl era, which began in 1966 – though that team and the ’62 Packers played when the regular season spanned 14 games.
Sacks by a team
The Eagles’ 68 sacks are 16 more than any other team. Add five against the New York Giants, who will likely be playing several backups Sunday, and Philly will overtake the 1984 Chicago Bears’ record (72) since sacks became an official statistic in 1982. Philadelphia is the first club since 1982 to have four separate players record double-digit sacks (Brandon Graham, Javon Hargrave, Haason Reddick and Josh Sweat).
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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis.
