Historic Seasons Still in Progress; Garrett, JSN, Stafford Chasing Records
Summary
Several NFL players are chasing individual records as the season concludes. Cleveland’s Myles Garrett is on pace to break the single-season sack record, needing four more to surpass the 22.5 mark. Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba is pursuing Calvin Johnson’s receiving yards record, while Baker Mayfield aims to tie the record for fourth-quarter comeback wins.
Other notable pursuits include Jonathan Taylor targeting the single-season rushing touchdown record, and Matthew Stafford maintaining an exceptional touchdown-to-interception ratio. Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs is close to breaking Barry Sanders’ record for most touchdowns before age 24, and Derrick Henry is nearing a spot in the top ten all-time rushers.
We are in the homestretch of the season and several players are flirting with setting new individual NFL records. A few players have legitimate opportunities to break these marks while others need a push in the final few weeks of the season. Let’s take a look at those who are chasing history.
Myles Garrett – Single-season Sack Record (22.5)
Myles Garrett has been a menace to the NFL society as he posted 19 sacks in 12 games – and on pace to take down the league record shared by Michael Strahan (2001) and T.J. Watt (2021).
The Browns star has already broken the 11 game record previously held by Mark Gastineau with 17.5 sacks in 1984. The favorite for Defensive Player of the Year – has been closing quickly and forcing quarterbacks to make hurried decisions, which often means getting sacked. Garrett continues to anchor the Browns defense, which has kept them in most games. He amassed 14 sacks in the last five games, and needs just four sacks in his final five games to break the record.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba – Single-season Receiving Yards (1,964)
In just 11 games Jaxon Smith-Njigba has already broken the Seahawks single-season record for receiving yards, surpassing D.K. Metcalf (1,303 yards set in 2020). JSN is now chasing the NFL record held by Calvin Johnson with 1,964 yards receiving. He was on pace to challenge but a two catch, 23-yard game against the Vikings puts JSN at 1,892 yard pace for the season. He still has a shot and to break 2,000 yards, but he’ll need some big games coming up.
He’ll continue to be WR1 in Seattle, averaging over 7 receptions per game, with a 16.4 YPC. Keep in mind, when Johnson set the mark, he did it in 16 games, JSN will likely play 17 games this season.
Baker Mayfield – Single-season fourth-quarter comebacks (8 Comeback Wins)
Baker Mayfield started the season with a bang putting himself in the MVP conversation as he led the Bucs to four, fourth-quarter comeback wins. Since then, Tampa has struggled with 3 straight losses. But Mayfield still has a shot to beat the NFL record for most late-game rallies by a QB held by Matthew Stafford (2016) and Kirk Cousins (2022) with 8. The Buccaneers have 5 games left, meaning Mayfield needs to have at least 4 comeback wins to tie the record, and five to break it. If the Bucs keep playing tight, close games, he’ll have a shot despite the long odds.
Jonathan Taylor – Single-season Rushing Touchdowns (28 TDs)
The rushing touchdown record has stood since LaDainian Tomlinson scored 28 back in 2006.. Recently, we’ve seen Raheem Mostert scored 18 for the Dolphins in 2023 and now
Jonathan Taylor is trying to make a run at the record. After a hot run, Taylor has cooled off a bit and sits with 15 rushing scores and needs 13 to tie the record in his final five games. That means he’ll need to average at least 2 touchdowns per game, to have a shot.
Matthew Stafford -Touchdown-to-INT ratio
Matthew Stafford is having an MVP season and is the favorite to win the award and he’s also chasing some history . He leads the NFL with 30 passing touchdowns and his 30-2 TD-to-INT ratio makes him the fourth player with 30-plus passing TDs and fewer than five picks through 11 games. Others on that list, Tom Brady (2007 MVP season), Patrick Mahomes (2020) and Rodgers (2011, 2014 and 2020 MVP seasons).  Stafford’s 27 consecutive pass touchdowns without throwing an interception tied Brady for the longest such streak in NFL history. Stafford not only has the Rams atop the NFC, but also the favorites to win the Super Bowl.
Jahmyr Gibbs – Most TDs Before Turning 24 Years Old (47 TDs)
With 13 touchdowns this season, Jahmyr Gibbs now has 44 for his career before turning 24-years old, which is tied for second-most (Randy Moss). Gibbs doesn’t turn 24 years old until March 20, 2026 and will easily surpass this mark before the end of the season. The NFL under-24 record belongs to Barry Sanders, with 47 TDs. Gibbs has already passed three Hall of Famers, Jim Brown (42), and Emmitt Smith (43). The way Gibbs plays, he’ll run and catch his way into the record books at some point in the coming months.
Derrick Henry – Top 10 All-time Rushers
This one isn’t about setting an NFL record, instead Derrick Henry is inching closer to cracking the all-time top ten rushing list. The Ravens’ running back is having a down season for him, less than a thousand yards through 12 games but he has a chance to crack the top ten this season. He’s less than 400 yards away from surpassing Tony Dorsett (12,739) into tenth place all-time. Henry, who has averaged about 83 yards per game over his career, is still over 5,500 yards away from the top spot held by Cowboys great, Emmitt Smith (18,355).
