Honestly, if you thought you’d seen it all in pro football, the 2025-26 season basically just said, "Hold my Gatorade."
It has been a wild ride. We’ve seen defensive ends turning into literal human wrecking balls and wide receivers putting up numbers that look like they’re playing a video game on rookie mode. Usually, "record-breaking" is a term sports anchors throw around to hype up a mid-week matchup, but this time? It's legit. We are looking at a year where names like Myles Garrett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba didn't just participate—they rearranged the furniture in the Hall of Fame.
Myles Garrett and the Sack Race That Actually Happened
The single-season sack record is one of those "untouchable" milestones, kind of like the 56-game hitting streak in baseball. For years, Michael Strahan's 22.5 (and later T.J. Watt’s matching effort) felt like the ceiling.
Then came Myles Garrett.
Playing for a Cleveland Browns team that, frankly, struggled to keep games competitive, Garrett was often the only reason to keep the TV on. Entering Week 18, he was sitting on the doorstep of history. He needed just one sack to stand alone. And he did it. By finishing the 2025 campaign with 23.5 sacks, Garrett didn't just break the record; he shattered the glass ceiling of what we thought a pass rusher could do in the modern era.
What’s crazy is that he did it while being double-teamed on nearly 30% of his snaps. Most players disappear under that kind of pressure. Garrett just got faster. It’s also worth mentioning the Denver Broncos as a unit. While Garrett took the individual crown, the Broncos' defense spent the year living in opposing backfields, finishing with 72 team sacks and tying the legendary 1984 Chicago Bears.
The New King of the Air: Jaxon Smith-Njigba
If you had JSN breaking the single-season receiving yards record on your bingo card, go buy a lottery ticket.
🔗 Read more: Buddy Hield Sacramento Kings: What Really Happened Behind the Scenes
The Seahawks' wideout has been a revelation. We’ve been living in the era of Justin Jefferson and Tyreek Hill, but Smith-Njigba took over the narrative this year. He finished the regular season with a staggering 1,811 yards.
Wait.
Actually, let's look at the age factor. At just 23 years old, he passed Justin Jefferson's 2022 mark for the most yards ever by a player that young. He joined a list of legends—Jerry Rice, Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones—who have cleared the 1,800-yard hurdle. Seeing him do it in Seattle’s pass-heavy offense under Sam Darnold was sort of surreal. Speaking of Darnold, the guy became the first quarterback in NFL history to win 12+ games in consecutive seasons with two different teams. Talk about a career 180.
Running Backs Aren’t Dead (They’re Just Getting Older)
Everyone loves to say the running back position is devalued. Tell that to Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley.
Henry, now a foundational piece for the Baltimore Ravens, entered the season tied with the legendary Jim Brown at 106 rushing touchdowns. He didn't stay there long. By mid-season, he had vaulted past Walter Payton into the top five all-time. It’s rare to see a guy with that many miles on the odometer still hitting the hole with that much violence.
Then you’ve got Christian McCaffrey.
💡 You might also like: Why the March Madness 2022 Bracket Still Haunts Your Sports Betting Group Chat
In a Week 18 showdown that felt more like a playoff game, CMC broke a tie with Marshall Faulk for the most career receiving touchdowns by a running back in the Super Bowl era. He’s now the gold standard for "dual-threat." He also joined Faulk and Lenny Moore as the only backs with 900+ receiving yards in multiple seasons. Basically, if you didn't have him on your fantasy team, you probably had a bad time.
QB Milestones: The Old Guard and the New Wave
Aaron Rodgers is still doing Aaron Rodgers things, even in a Steelers uniform.
Early in the season, he hopped over Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers on the all-time passing yards list. He’s now sitting comfortably at fifth. But the real headline was his touchdown count. Rodgers cleared Brett Favre for fourth all-time in passing TDs, and he even managed to join the "32 Club"—quarterbacks who have defeated every single team in the league.
On the flip side, Patrick Mahomes is still chasing ghosts.
He officially became the fastest player to reach 250 career passing touchdowns. He did it in fewer than 120 games. To put that in perspective, it took Dan Marino 128 games. Mahomes is essentially playing a different sport at this point.
Notable Stats from the 2025-26 Season
- Bijan Robinson: Lead the league with 2,255 scrimmage yards, falling just short of the top 5 all-time single-season marks but solidifying himself as a superstar.
- Justin Jefferson: Became one of only three players (with Mike Evans and Randy Moss) to hit 1,000 yards in each of his first six seasons.
- Josh Allen: Tied Aaron Rodgers for the most seasons (6) with at least 40 offensive touchdowns.
- The "Nose-Wipe" Penalty: In a weird turn of events, the NFL added this to the unsportsmanlike conduct list. Yes, it’s a 15-yarder now.
The Streaming Revolution and Playoff Madness
It wasn't just the players breaking things; the fans broke the internet.
📖 Related: Mizzou 2024 Football Schedule: What Most People Get Wrong
The Wild Card game between the Packers and Bears on Prime Video officially became the most-streamed NFL game in U.S. history. We’re talking 31.61 million viewers. That’s more people than the entire population of Texas tuning into a single stream. It’s a massive sign that the "traditional" TV era is officially in the rearview mirror.
And the games actually lived up to the hype. The first weekend of the 2025-26 playoffs set a record with 12 fourth-quarter lead changes across four games. It was exhausting. It was beautiful. It was exactly why we watch.
What This Means for Your Offseason Prep
If you’re looking at nfl records this year and wondering how to use this info, start by re-evaluating "peak" ages. We used to think 30 was the cliff for RBs and 35 for QBs. Henry and Rodgers are laughing at those numbers.
For those of you into sports betting or dynasty fantasy leagues, the takeaway is clear: the league is shifting toward high-volume efficiency. If a receiver isn't getting 10 targets a game, they aren't breaking records. Keep an eye on the "virtual measurement system" too. The old-school chain gang is officially a secondary backup now, replaced by Hawk-Eye technology. No more "index card" first down measurements.
The best way to stay ahead is to track the "Pace vs. Record" metrics early in the 2026 season. Players like JSN and Myles Garrett didn't come out of nowhere; their per-game averages were screaming "record-breaker" by Week 6. If you see a pass rusher with 9 sacks in his first 5 games next year, start paying attention. The history books are being rewritten faster than ever before.