Pro Football Hall Of Fame 2016 NFL Season Milestones

As the 2016 NFL Season gets underway, here at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, we like to keep a close eye on all of the new history that has the possibility of being made throughout the season.
 

HOF Collections curator Jason Aikens collected the football used for opening kickoff of the Panthers vs. Broncos game in Week 1.

It’s no secret that it takes hard work and dedication to be the best, so here is a conceivable list of milestones to watch for during this year’s NFL calendar.
 

• The ​New York Giants ​need three victories to become the third team in NFL history with 700 total ​victories. ​ ​

 

• Drew Brees ​needs two 400-yard passing games to surpass Peyton Manning (14) for the most all-time. ​In 15 seasons, Brees has 13 400-yard passing games. ​

 

• ​Tom Brady​, New England, needs seven wins to surpass Peyton Manning (200) and Brett Favre (199) ​for the most overall (regular season and postseason) wins by a quarterback in NFL history. In 16 ​seasons, Brady has 194 overall wins. ​

 

• ​Eli Manning, New York Giants, needs six touchdown passes to become the eighth player in ​NFL history to reach 300 career touchdown passes. In 12 seasons, Manning has 294 touchdown passes.

 

• ​Ben Roethlisberger​ needs 28 touchdown passes to become the eighth player in NFL history to reach ​300 career touchdown passes. In 12 seasons, Roethlisberger has 272 touchdown passes (see Manning, ​Palmer, Rivers and Rodgers note). ​ ​

 

• Adrian Peterson​ has six 200-yard rushing games, tied with O.J. Simpson (6) for the most all-time. ​Peterson needs one 200-yard rushing game to move into sole possession of first place in NFL history. ​

 

• ​Larry Fitzgerald​ needs two touchdown receptions to become the 10th player in NFL history with 100 ​touchdown catches. In 12 seasons, Fitzgerald has 98 touchdown receptions. ​ ​

 

• Antonio Gates ​(left), San Diego, needs eight touchdown receptions to surpass Tony Gonzalez (111) ​for the most career touchdown receptions by a tight end. In 13 seasons, Gates has 104 touchdowns ​receptions. ​ ​

 

• Julius Peppers ​(right), Green Bay, needs 14 sacks to become the fourth player with 150 sacks since ​the sack became an official statistic in 1982. In 14 seasons, Peppers has 136 sacks. ​ ​

 

• DeMarcus Ware​, Denver, has led the league in sacks twice in his career and can become the first ​player to lead the league three times since the sack became an official statistic in 1982 (see Watt ​note).​Ware​ needs 7.5 sacks to surpass Jared Allen (136), Julius Peppers (136), Richard Dent (137.5), ​John Randle (137.5), Jason Taylor (139.5) and Michael Strahan (141.5) for the fifth-most sacks since the ​sack became an official statistic in 1982. In 11 seasons, Ware has 134.5 sacks. ​ ​

 

• JJ Watt​ has led the league in sacks twice in his career and can become the first player to lead the ​league three times since the sack became an official statistic in 1982 (see Ware note). ​ ​

 

• Aqib Talib​, Denver, needs two interception-return touchdowns to become the fourth player with 10 ​all-time. In eight seasons, Talib has eight interception-return touchdowns. ​

 

• Stephen Gostkowski​, New England, has led the league in scoring five times in his career and can ​surpass Don Hutson (5) and Gino Cappelletti (5) as the only player to lead the league in points scored at ​least six times.