NFL Records and Milestones Most Likely to Be Reached This Season

Face it. Even with all of the modern-day conveniences we have to watch and read about football, most enjoy reveling in the game's history.

So here’s a look at a dozen league records or significant marks that either players or teams can reach this year, NFL’s 96th season. There may be other accomplishments we could see by the end of the 2015 season, but these 12 stand out for now.

We will focus on both sides of the ball, individually and team-wise. If you’re fascinated by the game and the numbers, this is a piece you should enjoy.

Count on it.

Running back Frank Gore is the San Francisco 49ers' all-time rushing leader, with 11,073 yards.

He’s taking aim at the league’s all-time list when it comes to this category and will now be doing it in an Indianapolis Colts uniform.

If Gore can do what he’s done eight times previously and run for at least 1,000 yards, he will vault from 20th to 15th place on the NFL’s all-time rushing-yardage list, 36 inches behind tying Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas (12,074). The great Jim Brown stands in ninth place, with 12,312 yards, a number that was once engrained in football fans' memories.

Could Gore catch him by the end of the upcoming season?

Who would have thought it years ago? Suddenly there are 10 players in NFL history with at least 1,000 career receptions.

Now there’s a chance that the party of 10 could increase somewhat significantly.

There are four active players in the league with 900-plus career catches: Jason Witten (943), Anquan Boldin (940), Steve Smith (915) and Larry Fitzgerald (909).

While it would take huge years from Smith and Fitzgerald to reach the four-digit mark, both Witten and Boldin are in very realistic range when it comes to this significant milestone.

We just spoke about the fact that 10 players have totaled at least 1,000 career catches in NFL lore.

Two of those are active players and have joined new teams in 2015 after racking up big numbers with their original franchises for more than a decade.

Reggie Wayne ranks seventh in league history, with 1,070 receptions, followed somewhat closely by Andre Johnson, with 1,012 catches. The latter now takes over with the Indianapolis Colts after 12 seasons with the Houston Texans. Wayne recently signed with the New England Patriots after 14 seasons with the Colts.

Jerry Rice remains atop the list, with 1,549 catches, followed by Tony Gonzalez (1,325). But both Johnson and Wayne are within range of players such as Marvin Harrison (1,102), Cris Carter (1,101), Tim Brown (1,094) and Terrell Owens (1,078).

It’s a pretty significant mark. Unfortunately, we are going to have to wait a bit until San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates gets a crack at hitting the number.

Eight players in NFL history have caught at least 100 touchdown passes. Gates is currently tied with legendary ahead-of-his-time Hall of Famer Don Hutson, with 99 scoring catches. But the eight-time Pro Bowl tight end is suspended for the first four games of 2015 after violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy.

Gates is eligible to return in Week 5 for a Monday night clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Will we see him get to a C-note that evening?

It’s likely not a matter of will but a matter of when.

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, who in 2014 upended Brett Favre as the NFL’s all-time leader in touchdown passes, is now within range of another of Favre’s fabled marks.

Manning enters 2015 with 69,691 passing yards, a mere 2,147 yards shy of tying Favre’s league record of 71,838 yards. If the 39-year-old signal-caller remains healthy this upcoming season, he should have no problem surpassing Favre’s numbers—perhaps by midseason.

It’s worth noting that Manning has totaled 300-plus passing yards in 28 of his 48 regular-season contests with the Broncos dating back to 2012. His career low for passing yards in a season stands at 3,739 in 1998, his rookie campaign with the Indianapolis Colts.

If Manning’s new-look offensive line can keep him out of harm’s way, then this is a slam dunk that may occur some time in mid-November, perhaps when the Broncos visit the Colts in Week 9.

Neither New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (396) nor New England Patriots legend Tom Brady (392) are within range of catching Peyton Manning for the all-time NFL mark for career touchdown passes. But that doesn’t mean this talented pair isn't ready to hit some significant milestones.

Only three players in NFL history—Manning (530), Brett Favre (508) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (420)—have thrown as many as 400 career touchdown passes. As you can see by the numbers above, both Brees and Brady are well within range of accomplishing that feat early in the 2015 season.

Both men are also less than 30 scoring tosses away from catching Marino for third place on the all-time list in this category.

Who will get there first? It may be a matter of Brees having a bit of a head start this season.

We are not sure where Eli Manning, Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger will all wind up by the end of their NFL careers. But we do know when it all began.

Manning (first), Rivers (fourth) and Roethlisberger (11th) were three of the top 11 selections in the 2004 NFL draft, and after 11 seasons all three rank in the NFL’s top 20 all-time in both passing yards and touchdown passes.

Manning (259), Rivers (252) and Roethlisberger (251) are three of the 18 players to throw for at least 250 scores. Eli (39,755), Big Ben (39,057) and Rivers (36,655) are all within range of reaching at least 40,000 passing yards.

As we know, it’s been more about just numbers when it comes to this trio. There has been only one year (2013) in which none of the three reached the playoffs. Both Manning and Roethlisberger have a pair of Super Bowl rings (Big Ben has taken the Pittsburgh Steelers to three Super Bowls), while Rivers has led the San Diego Chargers to the playoffs five times in his nine seasons as the team’s starter.

Could all three be back in the playoffs in 2015? How far will they continue to climb up the all-time passing charts?

No, currently Indianapolis Colts place-kicker Adam Vinatieri is not within range of threatening Morten Andersen’s all-time NFL record for points scored (2,544). He also has some work to do to catch Gary Anderson (2,434) for second place on the list.

But he’s one good afternoon from moving into third place on the scoring list. Vinatieri, 42, enters his 20th NFL season with 2,146 points, four points shy of tying 21-year veteran Jason Hanson (2,150), who spent his entire career with the Detroit Lions.

Vinatieri has toiled for 19 years with the New England Patriots and now the Colts, and he is already the league’s all-time postseason leader in games played and points scored.

It’s a feat that only 21 players in NFL history have managed to accomplish.

Then again, Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice doubled his pleasure in this category. He is the league’s all-time leader when it comes to touchdowns scored with 208. There are 20 other men who have scored a minimum of 100 touchdowns, and the vast majority can be found in Canton, Ohio, as well.

So who could join this club in 2015? There are three players with realistic chances in San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates (99), Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (91) and perhaps Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (89).

We will have to wait on Gates’ attempt at the mark because of his four-game suspension. Could a hot Peterson beat him to the century mark this year?

What’s in a name? Plenty if yours is Woodson.

The NFL’s all-time record for interceptions is owned by Hall of Fame safety Paul Krause, with 81 thefts. There are 10 other players with at least 60 career picks, and two of them are Woodsons. Pro Football Hall of Fame Rod Woodson has 71 career interceptions, and Oakland Raiders free safety Charles Woodson has picked off 60 passes in 17 seasons—and counting.

Rod Woodson owns the NFL record, with 12 interceptions returned for touchdowns, more than both Charles Woodson and Darren Sharper (11).

Will Charles take charge and take back one or two picks for scores this season? 

Some would say it is nearly impossible to play consistent defense in the National Football League in this day and age.

But the Seattle Seahawks are doing a pretty good imitation. In 2014, the team allowed just 254 points, marking the third straight year Pete Carroll’s led the NFL in this important category. The last time a franchise managed that feat was from 1969-71, when the Minnesota Vikings turned the impressive trick.

The NFL record for fewest points allowed in consecutive seasons is five, a milestone owned by Paul Brown’s Cleveland Browns from 1953-57, a different era for sure. But Seattle can make it four straight in 2015, and that’s quite a feat in this modern era of the game.

The defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots are in the midst of one of the great runs in National Football League history.

Bill Belichick’s club has posted 14 consecutive winning campaigns dating back to 2001 and have reached the Super Bowl six times over that span, hoisting four Lombardi Trophies. The Pats have also won at least 10 games in each of the last 12 seasons dating back to 2003.

New England has not only reached the playoffs each of the last six seasons, but it has also won the AFC East in each of those years. And if the Patriots can hold off the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and New York Jets in 2015 and make it seven straight, they will tie the record of seven consecutive division titles set by the then-Los Angeles Rams, who captured the NFC West each year from 1973-79.

Unless otherwise noted, all player and team statistics come from Pro-Football-Reference.com and ESPN.com.