As the old saying goes, records are made to be broken.
That hasn’t been the case through the early portion of the 2025 season, as records aren’t falling as consistently as in previous years. Mike Evans was on a quest for his 12th consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season — which would have broken Jerry Rice’s record for the most in NFL history. An early-season hamstring injury jeopardized the streak, then a broken clavicle ended any chance of Evans setting the mark.
While Evans won’t be setting any records in 2025, several players (and coaches and teams) are still chasing longstanding marks. This season isn’t one where offensive numbers are off the charts, but some records are in jeopardy as the league approaches the halfway point.
Which records stand a chance of being broken? Who is within striking distance of historic NFL marks? A few are in danger of being snapped.
Smith-Njigba is on a historic pace heading into Seattle’s bye week, as the Seahawks receiver leads the league with 819 receiving yards. His 117.0 yards per game average isn’t on track to top Wes Chandler’s record of 127.0 (1982), but it puts Smith-Njigba on pace to break Calvin Johnson’s single-season record of 1,964 (2012).
While Johnson set the record in a 16-game season, Smith-Njigba isn’t going to apologize for playing in a 17-game schedule. He’s on pace for 1,989 receiving yards, which would surpass Johnson’s mark by 25. Five 100-yard games and an average of 10 targets per game have certainly helped.
Burns and Young each lead the league with 9.0 sacks and are entering the conversation for potentially catching Michael Strahan (2001) and T.J. Watt (2021), who share the single-season record with 22.5 sacks. Both Burns and Young have played seven games, putting them on pace for 22.0.
Each would need to average 1.35 sacks per game to tie Strahan and Watt. Burns has 4.0 sacks over his last two games, while Young has 3.5 in that span. Both are part of stacked defensive lines, so it’s very possible their hot streaks will either continue or reignite later this season.
Drake Maye, Jared Goff — Highest completion percentage in a season
This one will be tough to break, but both Maye and Goff are within range. Maye leads the NFL in completion percentage (75.2%), the third-highest mark through seven games in league history, and is on pace to beat Drew Brees’ record of 74.4% (2018).
Goff is second in the league (74.9%), also ahead of Brees’ pace. It’s still early in the season, and one bad game could drop either passer behind Brees’ mark, but both have gotten off to historically efficient starts.
Jonathan Taylor — Single-season rushing touchdowns
The rushing touchdown record has stood since 2006, when LaDainian Tomlinson scored 28 times. Taylor has 10 rushing touchdowns through seven games and an outside shot at matching Tomlinson.
Taylor is on pace for 24 touchdowns, which would fall four short of Tomlinson but still mark the most in a season since 2006. That total would also tie John Riggins for the fifth most in NFL history.
Taylor has seven touchdowns over his last three games and three outings with three or more scores this season. Tomlinson’s record could be in jeopardy if the Colts’ offense keeps rolling with Taylor as the centerpiece.
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Baker Mayfield — Single-season fourth-quarter comebacks
Mayfield has cooled off a bit from his hot start, but the reason the Buccaneers quarterback was in the early MVP discussion is because of Tampa Bay’s late-game rallies. The Bucs had last-minute comeback victories in each of their first three games and in four of their first five.
Mayfield has four game-winning drives through seven games and is on pace to break the record of eight shared by Matthew Stafford (2016) and Kirk Cousins (2022). He needs four more to tie them and five more to surpass the mark — putting him on pace for nine this season.
If the Buccaneers keep playing close games, Mayfield will have more chances to add to that total. Of course, Tampa Bay would prefer less-stressful wins — as would Mayfield.
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