Which NFL records could be broken in Week 18?
The final week of the NFL season is one of the most unique of the year. On one hand, teams are waiting for the season to be over.
On the other hand, teams are fighting for their lives. At the same time, players are fighting to get their names etched into the history books.
Which players could break records this weekend? Here's a look at all six potentially on the table, according to Steelers Wire.
Which players can set a new NFL record this weekend?
brady" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Tom Brady: passing yards in a season
Back in 2013, Peyton Manning threw for 5,477 yards during the best 16-game offensive runs of all time. In 2021, Brady has a chance to beat that in 17 games.
Brady currently has 4,990 yards. To pass Manning, he will need to throw for 488 yards on Sunday.
Tom Brady! with 15 seconds left Brady pulls off the comeback to Grayson with a 33-yard TD
#Jets had a short FG as an option to go up 7, but they chose to go for it on 4th down and failed
Brady took the Bucs 93 yards without TOs. 40 TDs on the year
https://t.co/aiYOZpH8G0
Brady is within range of the NFL record, but would need to play all four quarters and explode from wire-to-wire. As such, Manning should feel relatively safe about this one.
TJ Watt: quarterback sacks in a season
Michael Strahan earned 22.5 sacks in 2001. Steelers linebacker TJ Watt currently has 21.5, thanks to a four-sack performance. Could Watt set a new NFL record?
This one appears to be a coin flip. Even the best pass rushers regularly have games without a sack. For Watt to earn the record, he'll need two plays to go his way to get the needed 1.5 sacks.
TJ Watt just won the DPOY in my mind
Cooper Kupp: receiving yards in a season
Cooper Kupp is only about 40 yards short of reaching second-place for receiving yards earned in a season. Currently, Kupp has 1,829 yards while Calvin Johnson's 1,964 yards sit at the top of the leaderboard.
To pass Johnson, Kupp will need 136 yards.
Kupp has reached 136 yards three times this season, putting his odds on the board but keeping them low. If you add that to Sean McVay's pattern of sitting players early in the final week of the season, Kupp has the deck stacked against him.
But he's got a shot.
Tom Brady: pass completions in a season
Tom Brady's 456 pass completions this season are quite close to Drew Brees' NFL record of 471 in 2016. To get the record, Brady would only need to complete 16 passes during the entirety of Week 18's game.
Put simply, barring an early benching or injury, he could possibly pass Brees' NFL record by halftime.
Cooper Kupp: receptions in a season
Cooper Kupp has a shot at setting a new receiving yardage record in the NFL as well as a record for receptions in a season. At 138, Kupp can catch Michael Thomas' 2019 record of 149.
To pass Thomas, Kupp would need to catch 12 passes. He's only done it once this season, but that keeps the receiver in realistic range for most of the game.
Tom Brady: pass attempts in a season
Tom Brady has a shot to set another record before the end of the season. Brady is sitting on 682 pass attempts this season, just 45 behind Matthew Stafford's 2012 season.
If the Buccaneers' offense keeps Brady in the game for all four quarters, he could pass Stafford's NFL record in the fourth quarter.
Brady could get close, but without a bye to play for, it might be tough for Bruce Arians to rationalize keeping Brady in the game while passing the ball on most plays, hurting Brady's odds.