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10 Records That Could Fall During the 2013 NFL Season
NFL Records Bound To Go Down
With the 2013 NFL season due to start this Sunday, football interest is through the roof. Both the media and fans throughout the U.S. are busy talking football around the clock, with all 32 fan bases feeling at least optimistic about the season to come. After all the 2012 season was one of the best and least predictable seasons in recent years, with great games occurring from the start of week one to the Super Bowl.
Along with the games being great, part of what made the 2012 NFL season an incredible one to watch was that a large amount of team and individual records were broken. These records included the single season receiving yards mark, most points scored by a team in a single season, most points per game in league history and the most interceptions returned for touchdowns in league history. What this indicates is that the game is trending towards a more and more offensive orientated league with every passing day, and this has made watching the game more exciting for fans than ever before.
Despite a large load of records being broken in recent seasons the sight of a record being broken still causes the excitement of fans, and justifiably so. This is because frequency of injuries throughout the NFL makes it possible that any given year could be the year that not a single record will be broken, making it a cause for celebration when any record is actually goes down.
With records in mind we have taken the liberty of identifying the ten records that could be broken during the 2013 season, covering offense, defense and special teams in the process. Enjoy!
10.Career Game-Winning Drives Led
Peyton Manning comes into the 2013 season two game-winning drives shy of the record 51 that Dan Marino recorded during his career. Manning has been able to average 3.5 game-winning drives per season, giving us an indication that if history holds true this is a record almost sure to go down.
9.Receiving Yards Per Game
Last season Calvin Johnson came within 6.2 receiving yards per game of breaking Wes Chandler's record average of 129 in 1982. On paper it would appear that teams would try to double and triple team Johnson even more during the 2013 season than ever before, but that ignores the fact that teams have given him multiple looks for the past few years. Johnson, meanwhile, has seemed to only get bigger and stronger proving that he cannot be stopped.
8.Yards Per Kick Return
In recent seasons Jacoby Jones, Josh Cribbs, Bernard Scott, and Joe McKnight have all cracked the 30 yard mark in yards per kick return during a single season. While the record is an absurd 41.1 yards per return during a season by Travis Williams in 1967, any of these players could break the record under the right circumstances. They would likely have to be used as a part time returner, ensuring that their big returns will have a vast influence on their average mark.
7. Single Season Yards Per Punt
Shane Lechler has been a machine punting the ball in recent seasons, with the highlight of his career being when he came within .3 yards per punt of breaking Sammy Baugh's record 51.4 average during the 2009 season. Since that season Lechler has not averaged below 47 yards per punt, indicating that a couple of good bounces here or there during any given season could be the difference in him breaking Baugh's 73 year old record.
6.Career Non-Offensive Touchdowns
Devin Hester is coming into the season one non-offensive touchdown shy of the record 19 that Deion Sanders had during his career. With Hester now focusing specifically on retuning kicks the 2013 season will be the year that this record goes down.
5.Single Season Pass Attempts
During the 2012 season five players joined the top 14 players in history in passes attempted during a single season. This is a clear indication that the NFL is only becoming more of a pass happy league, and there is no indication that the 2013 season will be changing that trend. As a result this is a record that could be broken multiple times just during the 2013 season.
4.Single Season Passes Completed
The mark for passes completed in a single season has seemed to go up with every passing season now, with eight of the top ten marks having occurred since 2010. With each of the players that have joined the leaderboard since 2010-Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Matthew Stafford, Tony Romo and Matt Ryan- still going strong it is hard to bet against this record once again being upped in 2013.
3. Single Season Receiving Yards
Last season Calvin Johnson set the single season receiving mark with 1,964 yards, proving once again that he is nearly impossible to stop. Teams have constantly been trying to double team him, but it has not worked and will continue to be an ineffective tactic in 2013. The Detroit Lions' addition of Reggie Bush during the offseason will only open up the field and create more room for Matthew Stafford to find Johnson. Expect Johnson to have another year for the history books.
2.Single Season Sack Total
Last season J.J. Watt picked up 20.5 sacks, coming within two of the record 22.5 sacks that Michael Strahan picked up in 2001. What is scary though is that Watt will only be entering the 2013 season at the ripe age of 24, meaning that he has likely not hit his peak yet. With that in mind it would be no surprise if Watt comes in and sets the single season sack record in 2013.
1. Single Season Rushing Yards
Adrian Peterson appears to be a man on a mission after coming eight yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson's single season rushing record of 2,105 in 2012. During the offseason Peterson set a lofty goal of 2,500 rushing yards this season, and after watching what he did last season it is hard to bet against him at least getting close. If he is able to get anywhere close to the 2,500 mark then Dickerson's record will be a thing of the past.
