NFL 2018 MILESTONES REACHED

The 2018 NFL season was a record-breaking one and had many players make their mark in the league. Patrick Mahomes joined Peyton Manning (2013) and Tom Brady (2007) in throwing 50 touchdown passes in a single season. Rookie running back Saquon Barkley led the NFL in scrimmage yards with 2,028. Take a look at some of the incredible milestones reached by NFL players during the 2018 season.

BEN ROETHLISBERGER

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger led the NFL with 5,129 passing yards for his second-career passing title (4,952 yards in 2014). He has 363 career touchdown passes, the seventh-most in NFL history.

JUJU SMITH-SCHUSTER

Wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster had 111 catches this season and, at 22 years and 31 days old during Week 16 when he reached the 100-reception mark, surpassed Larry Fitzgerald (22 years, 123 days) as the youngest player to reach 100 receptions in a single season in NFL history.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

The Chiefs, with 565 points scored, finished as the third-highest scoring team in league annals, trailing only the 2013 Denver Broncos (606 points scored) and 2007 New England Patriots (589).

PROLIFIC PASSERS

In 2018, league-wide passing numbers trended at a record pace, as the marks for passer rating (92.9), completion percentage (64.9 percent) and touchdown passes (847) were all the highest for a single season in NFL history. Twelve quarterbacks passed for at least 4,000 yards, including five with at least 4,500 passing yards, in 2018: Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger (5,129), Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes (5,097), Atlanta's Matt Ryan (4,924), the Los Angeles Rams' Jared Goff (4,688) and Indianapolis' Andrew Luck (4,593). This was the second-most quarterbacks with at least 4,000 passing yards.

BIG RUSH SEASON

The 2018 season saw players average 4.42 yards per rush attempt, the highest single-season total in league history. Three players had at least 1,200 rushing yards this season: Dallas' Ezekiel Elliott (1,434), New York Giants rookie Saquon Barkley (1,307) and the Los Angeles Rams' Todd Gurley (1,251).

GREAT CATCH

With 11 players recording at least 100 catches this season; the 2018 season surpassed the 1995 season (nine) for the most players with at least 100 catches in a single season. Eleven players had at least 100 receptions in 2018, including seven with at least 110 catches: New Orleans' Michael Thomas (125), Philadelphia's Zach Ertz (116), Houston's DeAndre Hopkins (115), Minnesota's Adam Thielen (113), Atlanta's Julio Jones (113), Green Bay's Davante Adams (111) and Pittsburgh's Juju Smith-Schuster (111).

SACKS

With 16 players recording at least 12 sacks, the 2018 season tied the 1992 season (16 players) for the third-most players with at least 12 sacks in a single season since 1982 when the individual sack became an official statistic. Included were: The Los Angeles Rams' Aaron Donald (20.5), Houston's J.J. Watt (16), Kansas City's Chris Jones (15.5), Denver's Von Miller (14.5), Minnesota's Danielle Hunter (14.5) and Seattle's Frank Clark (14).

LARRY FITZGERALD

Larry Fitzgerald has 16,279 receiving yards in his 15-year NFL career and surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens (15,934) for the second-most receiving yards in NFL history. Fitzgerald has 1,303 career receptions and joined Hall of Famer Jerry Rice (1,549) and Tony Gonzalez (1,325) as the only players in NFL history with at least 1,300 catches.

BALTIMORE RAVENS

In Week 11, rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson (117 rushing yards) and rookie running back Gus Edwards (115 yards) became the first rookie quarterback and rookie running back teammates to rush for at least 100 yards each in a single game in NFL history.

CAM NEWTON

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has 58 career rushing touchdowns, the most by a quarterback in NFL history. He has three career games with at least two touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns, the second-most in NFL history.

CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY

Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey joined Pro Football Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson (2003) and Matt Forte (2014) as the only players in NFL history with at least 1,000 rushing yards and 100 receptions in a single season.

BAKER MAYFIELD

Browns rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield had 27 touchdown passes in 2018, the most by a rookie quarterback all-time.

JARVIS LANDRY

Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry has 481 receptions since entering the league in 2014 and surpassed Larry Fitzgerald (426 from 2004-08) for the most receptions by a player in his first five seasons in NFL history.

DESHAUN WATSON

Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson became the first quarterback in NFL history with 4,000-plus passing yards (4,165), 25-plus touchdown passes (26), 500-plus rushing yards (551) and five rushing touchdowns (five) in a single season.

ADAM VINATIERI

Kicker Adam Vinatieri has made 582 career field goals and surpassed NFL Hall of Famer Morten Andersen (565) for the most converted field goals in NFL history. Viantieri also has 2,600 total points during his 23-year NFL career and surpassed Andersen (2,544) as the league's all-time leading scorer.

PATRICK MAHOMES

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes led the league with 50 touchdown passes and joined Peyton Manning (55 touchdown passes in 2013) and Tom Brady (50 in 2007) as the only quarterbacks with at least 50 touchdown passes in a single season in NFL history.

PHILIP RIVERS

Quarterback Philip Rivers passed for 4,308 yards in 2018 and joined Peyton Manning (14 seasons), Drew Brees (12) and Tom Brady (10) as the only quarterbacks in NFL history with 10 seasons of at least 4,000 passing yards. Rivers has 54,656 career passing yards and surpassed Hall of Famer John Elway (51,475) for the eighth-most all- time.

AARON DONALD

Defensive tackle Aaron Donald had a franchise-record 20.5 sacks in 2018 and became the 11th player since 1982 with 20-plus sacks in a single season. Donald led the NFL with 25 tackles for a loss this season.

FRANK GORE

Running back Frank Gore has 14,748 career rushing yards and surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Curtis Martin (14,101) for the fourth-most rushing yards in NFL history.

ADAM THIELEN

Wide receiver Adam Thielen tied for fourth in the NFL with 113 receptions and had career-high 1,373 receiving yards in 2018. He joined Rod Smith (2000 & 2001) and Wes Welker (2009, 2011 & 2012) as the only undrafted players in the common draft era with at least 100 receptions and 1,300 receiving yards in a single season.

TOM BRADY

Quarterback Tom Brady passed for 4,355 yards in 2018 and joined Peyton Manning (14 seasons), Drew Brees (12) and Philip Rivers (10) as the only quarterbacks in NFL history with 10 seasons of at least 4,000 passing yards. Brady has 517 career touchdown passes and joined Peyton Manning (539), Drew Brees (520) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre (508) as the only players in NFL history to throw 500 career touchdown passes. Brady has 70,514 career passing yards and joined Brees (74,437), Manning (71,940) and Favre (71,838) as the only players in NFL history to pass for 70,000-plus yards. Brady has 234 career wins, including the postseason, the most all-time.

DREW BREES

Quarterback Drew Brees has 74,437 passing yards in his 18-year NFL career and surpassed Peyton Manning (71,940) for the most in NFL history. Brees has 520 career touchdown passes, the second-most all-time (Peyton Manning, 539). He has 6,586 career completions and surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre (6,300) for the most completions in NFL history.

SAQUON BARKLEY

Rookie running back Saquon Barkley led the NFL in scrimmage yards (2,028) and ranked second in rushing yards (1,307) this season. He had 91 receptions this season, the most by a rookie running back in NFL history and joined Pro Football Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson (2,212 scrimmage yards in 1983) and Edgerrin James (2,139 in 1999) as the only rookies with at least 2,000 scrimmage yards in NFL history.

SAM DARNOLD

Rookie quarterback Sam Darnold, at 21 years, 97 days old, became the youngest quarterback to start a season-opening game in the Super Bowl era. He passed for 334 yards and a touchdown in Week 2 and became the youngest player in NFL history (21 years, 103 days old) to pass for 300 yards in game.

DWAYNE HARRIS

Punt returner Dwayne Harris had a 99-yard punt return touchdown in Week 16, tied for the second-longest punt return in NFL history.

GEORGE KITTLE

Tight end George Kittle's 1,377 receiving yards are the most in a single season by a tight end in NFL history. Kittle had 210 receiving yards in Week 14, the third-most by a tight end in a single game in NFL history, trailing only Pro Football Hall of Famers Shannon Sharpe (214 receiving yards on Oct. 20, 2002) and Jackie Smith (212 on Oct. 13, 1963).

RUSSELL WILSON

Quarterback Russell Wilson became the first quarterback in NFL history with a winning record in each of his first seven seasons.

DERRICK HENRY

Titans running back Derrick Henry had a 99-yard touchdown run on Dec. 6 against the Jaguars, tied for the longest run in NFL history.

ADRIAN PETERSON

Running back Adrian Peterson has 13,318 career rushing yards, the eighth-most in NFL history, and has 106 rushing touchdowns, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown (106) for the fifth-most all-time. He became the seventh player in NFL history to record at least 12,000 rushing yards and 100 rushing touchdowns.