As with every NFL season, there were plenty of ups and downs to tickle the fancy of those that enjoy being titillated by the men on the field. Here are some of the noteworthy performances by both individual players as well as gridiron gangs.
PLAYER MILESTONES
Two tight ends recorded their fourth season with ten touchdowns to set an NFL record: Antonio Gates and Rob Gronkowski.
Three rookie wide outs went for 1,000 yards, the first time that happened in league history: Odell Beckham Jr. (1,305), Mike Evans (1,051) and Kelvin Benjamin (1,008). Two of those guys (Beckham and Evans) each scored 12 times, the first time two NFL rookies caught 12 touchdown passes in the same season. Beckham also went for 90 yards in nine straight games to tie the NFL record (Michael Irvin, 1995).
Four players went for 1,500 receiving yards to tie an NFL record (1995): Antonio Brown (1,698), Demaryius Thomas (1,619), Julio Jones (1,593) and Jordy Nelson (1,519).
Nine quarterbacks threw for at least 30 touchdowns, the most in history: Andrew Luck (40), Peyton Manning (39), Aaron Rodgers (38), Tony Romo (34), Tom Brady (33), Drew Brees (33), Ben Roethlisberger (32), Philip Rivers (31) and Eli Manning (30). The previous record was five.
Matt Asiata had two games with three rushing scores and now has three such games in his career. No other undrafted player since 1967 has done that.
Odell Beckham Jr. was the first rookie wideout in league history to have 1,250 receiving yards his first 12 games. He had 1,305.
Le’Veon Bell and Marshall Faulk are the only two players in league history to go for 1,350 rushing yards and 850 receiving yards in the same season. Bell ran for 1,361 yards and caught 83 passes for 854 yards.
Tom Brady won 155 games in his first 200 career games. No quarterback has ever bettered that mark.
Drew Brees has thrown at least 33 touchdown passes in each of his last seven seasons. That’s an ongoing NFL record.
Antonio Brown became the fourth player with back-to-back seasons of 110 receptions (Jerry Rice, Cris Carter and Wes Welker).
Dez Bryant is the only player in NFL history with at least 12 touchdown receptions in each of his first three seasons.
Matt Forte and LaDainian Tomlinson are the only running backs in league history with at least 800 rushing yards and 40 receptions in each of their first seven seasons.
Frank Gore goes from a Niners team that is falling apart to the offensive behemoth that is the Colts. He should find it easier going this year as no running back in football ran against more eight-man fronts as Gore. He faced such a setup 76 times in 2014, 18 more times than DeMarco Murray.
Andre Johnson is one of ten players in NFL history with 1,000 career receptions. He did so in 168 games. The only man to do it quicker was Marvin Harrison (167 games).
Calvin Johnson needed 115 games to reach 10,000 career receiving yards. No one has done it faster.
Julio Jones is good. He led the NFC in catches (104) and yards (1,593).
Peyton Manning has thrown for 4,000 yards 14 times. Even with his December struggles (three scores and six interceptions), only he and Andrew Luck threw for at least 4,700 yards and 35 touchdowns.
DeMarco Murray ran for 100 yards 12 times, the second most in NFL history. He also became the first running back to run for 100 yards in each of his first eight games to open the year.
Cody Parkey scored 150 points, an NFL record for a rookie kicker.
Aaron Rodgers was the second fastest quarterback to 200 career touchdown passes when it took him 99 games (Dan Marino 89). Rodgers total of 53 interceptions at the time of 200 touchdown passes was the fewest ever (Tom Brady 89).
Julius Thomas scored seven times in his first four games, allowing him to become the first tight end in NFL history with back-to-back seasons of 12 touchdowns.
Adam Vinatieri scored 140 points, the 17th time he hit 100 points in a season, which is an NFL record.
J.J. Watt is the first player ever with two seasons of 20 sacks (20.5 in 2014). He also became the first player to score three touchdowns on offense, two on takeaways and to record a safety in the same season.
Russell Wilson has 36 victories, 22 at home, in his first three NFL seasons. No quarterback can better those marks.
TEAM MILESTONES
Quarterbacks set all-time NFL records in 2014 in completion percentage (62.6 percent), QB rating (88.9), touchdown passes (807) and interception percentage (2.52).
Four teams averaged 400 yards of offense in 2014, the most in NFL history: Saints (411.4), Steelers (411.1), Colts (406.6) and Broncos (402.9).
Five teams made the playoffs in 2014 after failing to qualify in 2013: Cowboys, Cardinals, Lions, Steelers and Ravens.
Five comeback victories happened after a team was down by at least 21 points, an all-time NFL record.
Nine teams scored at least 400 points led by the Packers (486). That tied the second most such efforts in a season with the 2009 and 2012 campaigns.
A team down at least ten points came back to win forty-three times. That tied with the 2013 season for the most in NFL history.
A quarterback threw for three scores without being picked off in a game fifty-eight times, an all-time NFL record (55 in 2013).
The Chicago Bears became the first team ever to win 750 NFL games. They are 752-563-42.
The Carolina Panthers are the first club in NFC South history to win back-to-back division titles.
The Dallas Cowboys were the sixth team to go 8-0 on the road since divisional play started in 1978.
The Denver Broncos have scored at least 20 points in 30 straight games, an NFL record.
The Green Bay Packers offensive game was tip-top. They became the first team ever to have two wideouts go for 1,200-yards and 12 touchdowns (Randall Cobb & Jordy Nelson).
The New England Patriots have won six straight division titles. Only one team has won seven in a row (Los Angeles Rams, 1973-79). The Patriots are the only club in league history to win 11 division titles in 12 seasons. They joined the 49ers (1983-98) as the only club to have 12 straight ten-win seasons.
The Philadelphia Eagles had ten different men score a touchdown in the return game. That had never happened before.
The Seattle Seahawks became the first defense since the Minnesota Vikings (1969-71) to lead the NFL in scoring defense for three straight seasons.