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The 2022 NFL regular season ends at the end of this weekend. 18 teams prepare to head home to the offseason while the remaining 14 clubs advance to the playoffs for a berth in Super Bowl 57 and ultimately the Lombardi Trophy.
But before the post-season analysis begins in earnest, the Finals — as the league wraps up its second 17-game regular season — could bring some record book revisions. The extra game for 30 teams – stats from the suspended and ultimately canceled Bills-Bengals game in Week 17 don’t count – could certainly benefit several players, but no asterisks here.
One standard that won’t fall is overtaking a quarterback by yards in a year. Justin Fields of the Chicago Bears needed 64 more to pass Lamar Jackson, who collected 1,206 in 2019. But a hip injury will sideline Fields on Sunday.
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But here are nine single-season records that could be broken:
Rough punting average
Tennessee Titans rookie Ryan Stonehouse is averaging an insane 53.0 yards per punt and would be hard pressed to match Not enter the record book. Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh set the current standard in 1940 at 51.4 yards per punt. (The rookie record was set four years ago by the Seattle Seahawks’ Michael Dickson with 48.2.)
Passes attempted and completed
Despite the NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers being stuck in the No. 4 conference playoff slot, QB Tom Brady has expressed a desire to play on Sunday. If he throws a dozen passes, he would break Matthew Stafford’s decades-old mark (727). Complete nine and TB12 surpasses the record of 485 – set in 2021.
Past farms
Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes leads the league with 5,048 yards through the air, becoming only the third player of all time to make the top 5,000 multiple times. He needs 50 to surpass his career high…and 430 to surpass Peyton Manning’s 2013 mark (5,477). Mahomes has passed 430 yards five times in his six-year career, and KC must beat Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday to earn first place in the AFC playoffs.
yards received
Justin Jefferson’s 1,771 yards is currently the seventh-highest total in league history. It would take him 194 Sundays to bypass Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson (1,964 yards in 2012) and would take 229 to be the first to rush for 2,000 yards. Jefferson had a 223-yard game last month, but he only had one catch for 15 yards in a Week 17 loss at Green Bay. His playoff-tied and third-seeded Minnesota Vikings are unlikely to improve their position, so it remains to be seen how much Jefferson will play.
Yards gained through a tight end
The Chiefs’ Travis Kelce needs 117 yards on Saturday to break his own two-year-old record (1,416 yards). He has four of the top 11 rewarding yardage seasons for a close finish in league annals. If he picks up the record, Kelce would also be the first tight end with seven 100-yard games in a season. His seven 1,000-yard campaigns are by far the most at his position.
Receptions by a running back
Austin Ekeler of the Los Angeles Chargers is only the sixth defenseman to hit the century mark (103) in catches in a season. It would take him another 14 Sundays to beat Christian McCaffrey (116 in 2019). Unlikely by any means, especially given the likelihood the Bolts won’t give Ekeler many (if any) snaps with a wild card game looming next weekend. But he has already caught 15 passes in one game. Also, Ekeler can join Hall of Famer Lenny Moore as the only player with 30 TDs, both of which are rushing and received in their first six seasons if he catches another. Ekeler needs two TDs to get 20th for the second straight season.
Rushing TDs by a team
The Philadelphia Eagles have had a league-best 31 on-site touchdowns this season and need six more to defeat the 1962 Green Bay Packers. However, Philly has only 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 fastest TDs (33) in the Super Bowl era, which began in 1966 — even though that team and the ’62 Packers played when the regular season was 14 games.
sacks from one team
The Eagles have 68 sacks, 16 more than any other team. Add five against the New York Giants, who are likely to play multiple backups on Sunday, and Philly will surpass the Chicago Bears’ record of 1984 (72) since sacks became an official statistic in 1982. Philadelphia is the first club since 1982 to have separated four players to 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.
