NFL Records That Could be Broken in 2022 Season

Not only has Patrick Mahomes enjoyed a torrid start to the 2022 campaign, but the prolific Kansas City Chiefs quarterback is also among a small group of players with a reasonable shot to break an NFL record.

"On pace" can be a dangerous qualifier, particularly when the sample size is small. However, the current nine- or 10-game sampling is, at the very least, worth exploring.

Yes, we acknowledge the 17-game regular season is destined to skew the record books. These existing standards were all set in 16-game campaigns—but those marks also eclipsed the previous 14-game highs.

The list is organized in no particular way, save for a typical progression based on position.

Completion Percentage

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Geno Smith

Just as everyone anticipated, Geno Smith is flirting with Drew Brees' record for completion percentage.

Smith hadn't been a full-time starter since 2014 but has shocked the NFL world in 2022. He's guided the Seattle Seahawks to a surprising 6-4 record, completing 72.8 percent of his pass attempts along the way.

Brees, who's also second and fourth in the category, holds the record at 74.4 percent. The future Hall of Famer posted the mark in 2018.

While that standard will be immensely tough to beat, Smith has a legitimate shot on paper. Among the Seahawks' last seven contests, five of those opponents rank in the bottom 10 of completion rate allowed.

Completions and Attempts

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Tom Brady

Tom Brady, on the other hand, is chasing himself.

In 2021, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signal-caller broke the single-season completions record with 485. Brady eclipsed Brees' previous mark of 471—though, yes, that will remain the number to beat in a 16-game season.

Brady averaged 28.5 completions per game last year, and he's only slightly behind that track at 28.2 through 10 weeks.

Brady has traditionally lived on quick-hitting passes, which are often called an extension of the running game. Given that Tampa Bay has the NFL's worst rushing offense at 3.1 yards per attempt, however, Brady's short passes basically are the Bucs' running game.

Throw in Matthew Stafford's 727 attempts in 2012, and Brady—who's on pace for 726—is taking aim at two volume records.

Passing Yards

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Patrick Mahomes

In another 16-game versus 17-game stat-troversy, Patrick Mahomes is on pace to set the single-season passing yardage record.

Peyton Manning established the number at 5,477 during his historic 2013 campaign with the Denver Broncos. That season, he also tossed an NFL-record 55 touchdowns—a figure that feels pretty safe in 2022.

Mahomes may chase down the initial stat, though.

Through nine games, the one-time MVP has racked up 2,936 yards for a pass-heavy Kansas City offense that ranks 25th in rushing attempts. At his rate of 326.2 per game, Mahomes is tracking for 5,546 this season.

Manning's former team, incidentally, has the greatest chance of quieting this possibility. Denver boasts the NFL's stingiest pass defense and has two upcoming matchups with Mahomes.

Total Offense (Individual)

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Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes

After three straight 10-win seasons that didn't result in a Super Bowl trip for the Buffalo Bills, Josh Allen is undoubtedly focused more on playoff success than an individual record.

But he's a strong MVP contender for obvious reasons.

The dual-threat Allen has amassed a league-high 3,116 offensive yards—passing plus rushing, minus sack yardage—with a 17-game pace of 5,886 yards. At this point, he'd shatter Brees' total of 5,404 yards in 2011.

Mahomes, meanwhile, isn't far behind at 3,040. That rate would have Mahomes finishing at 5,742 yards, which is still more than 300 yards beyond Brees' mark.

Buffalo and Kansas City aren't the lone AFC contenders, but their race to stand atop the standings has a fun sidebar to monitor.

Game-Winning Drives

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Kirk Cousins and Daniel Jones

Kirk Cousins? Daniel Jones?! What a world.

Game-winning drives is a fun statistic that demands context. There's a balance of deserved credit for late-game effectiveness and understanding that the NFL's best teams generally avoid nerve-wracking moments.

Nevertheless, both Cousins and Jones—who've received a fair share of criticism in their respective careers—have overseen five game-winning drives apiece in 2022.

The record is eight, which Matthew Stafford set as a member of the 9-7 Detroit Lions in 2016. Again, important nuance.

Ideally for their teams, the Minnesota Vikings (Cousins) and New York Giants (Jones) would avoid dramatic finishes. But they're certainly glad to keep coming out on the right side of the result.

Receiving Yards

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Justin Jefferson

Keep watching your back, Calvin Johnson.

In 2021, Los Angeles Rams wideout Cooper Kupp made a serious run at Megatron's single-season mark of 1,964 receiving yards for the Detroit Lions in 2012. Kupp ended a mere 17 yards shy at 1,947.

Justin Jefferson, though, has already topped the four-digit landmark with 1,060 yards in only nine appearances. Minnesota's star receiver is averaging 117.8 yards per contest, which can be extrapolated to 2,002 for the season.

Jefferson might need to check the rearview mirror too.

Miami Dolphins speedster Tyreek Hill has a wide variance in single-game outputs, yet he's tracking for 1,952 yards.

Yards Per Punt

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Ryan Stonehouse

If you know anything about Ryan Stonehouse, his setting the single-season NFL record would only be fitting.

While at Colorado State, he blasted punts at 47.8 yards per attempt—the highest career mark in the top-level Football Bowl Subdivision among players with at least 150 punts. The rookie has wasted no time making his presence felt on the Tennessee Titans.

Stonehouse has registered a 53.0-yard average, which is 1.6 yards in front of Sammy Baugh's 82-year-old record of 51.4.

As with a few others, Stonehouse has company.

Las Vegas Raiders punter AJ Cole is even with Baugh's clip, while Chiefs specialist Tommy Townsend has notched 51.1 yards per kick.

For good measure, that trifecta, Michael Dickson (Seahawks) and Tress Way (Washington Commanders) are ahead of Johnny Hekker's net-punt rate of 44.2 yards for the St. Louis Rams in 2013.