The Football Records Ready to be Broken this Season
Recently, the NFL has approved the addition of one more game to the 16-games season. The 16-games format has been around since 1977 when the league raised the number of games from 14 to 16. So, a season with 17 games is already a record itself. What other records can we expect to see shattered this season?
More Time to Shine
What difference can an extra game make in terms of records? Well, it’s just 60 minutes more, score more points, run more yards, and so on. It means we’re probably about to see a rewrite in record numbers. The 2021 season will only begin next September, but the subject is already open for speculation.
Curiosity: NFL Players and Poker
NFL players aren’t uncommon in poker tournaments. During the off-season, it’s possible to find some Super Bowl giants playing in Mid-States competitions and even in the World Series of Poker. Players like Emmitt Smith, David Williams, Fred Jackson, and others play poker quite seriously and you may even find yourself at the same table as one of them when playing on GGPoker.com, one of the most well known names in online poker.
All-Timers
It’s reasonable to consider that those records counted for the season will increase in a longer season. Still, some long-standing records in NFL history seem hard to be broken. Check a few of them below.
More Kick-off Returns During in the Season
MarTay Jenkins got 82 kick-off returns during the 2000 season and has held the record ever since. It’s an incredible number, considering how much the kick-off return rate has dropped after it was shifted from 30 to 35. For the sake of comparison, the leader of kick-off returns last season scored 47. Could only one more game make so much a difference?
More Interceptions in the Season
Dick Lane, nicknamed the “Night Train,” wrote his name on the book in 1952, with 14 interceptions over the season. More impressive still, he reached this number in 12 games. Even in a 17-games season, it would require about an interception per game, on average, to take Lane’s crown.
More Career Receiving Touchdowns
Jerry Rice’s record of touchdowns stays far above the rest, 197. Terry Owens and Randy Moss share second place, and both are 44 touchdowns behind Rice. He was ahead of the touchdown ranking six times between 1986 and 1993. He also scored more than 10 TDs in a season nine times.
Records at Risk
Still, in the field of futurology, there are a few records that seem more probable to be broken. Those cases where the first and second players are in close ties and one game more can really make a difference. Here are a few of them.
Passing Yards
This record is currently held by Peyton Manning, with 5,477 yards, in 2013 while playing for the Denver Broncos. Drew Brees comes in second, with 5,208 yards. Could this gap be closed with an extra game? Quite possibly.
Passing Touchdowns
Another record held by Peyton Manning can be on the line. In the same year he broke the passing yards record, Manning also scored more touchdowns, 55 in 2013. Patrick Mahomes came close to breaking it, with 50 touchdowns in 2018.
Receiving Yards
Calvin Johnson marked 1,946 yards in 2012 while playing for the Detroit Lions. Julio Jones followed the mark closely, with 1,871 yards, in 2015. A more extended season can help increase the numbers.
Conclusion
While some numbers look like records for a lifetime, others will naturally improve with more games. ESPN’s specialists believe that a few players are likely to write to best their previous marks. Those players include Stefon Diggs, Patrick Mahomes, Christian McCaffrey, and more. However, until the season kicks in, we can only guess.
