New club with one member
Miami's Dan Marino needs just 1,087 passing yards to reach 60,000. Only one other quarterback, John Elway, has surpassed 50,000 (51,475). With 142 victories as a starter, he needs seven more to pass all-time leader Elway (148).

Thieves among us
If Dallas' Deion Sanders can return another interception for a touchdown, he'd tie Ken Houston's career record of nine. With one more heist, Washington's Darrell Green could break Willie Brown's record of 16 consecutive seasons with an interception.

Many happy returns
Washington's Brian Mitchell can knock Mel Gray out of the record books (13,003) by tallying 1,167 combined punt and kickoff return yards.

Catch me if you can
Andre Reed (889 catches) needs 52 receptions to pass Art Monk (940) and move into second place all-time. Minnesota's Cris Carter (834) needs 66 receptions to reach 900, while Dallas' Michael Irvin needs 60 to hit 800.

But they won't catch Rice
With every catch and touchdown, San Francisco's Jerry Rice will add to his list of NFL records: 1,139 receptions, 17,612 yards, 164 receiving touchdowns, 175 overall touchdowns. But there's still one mark he's pursuing: Walter Payton's combined yards of 21,803. Rice has 18,232, just behind Barry Sanders (18,308).

Mr. Smith going up the charts
With just 694 rushing yards, Emmitt Smith (12,566) can move into third place on the career list, passing Tony Dorsett (12,739) and Eric Dickerson (13,259). With 12 touchdowns, he'd move past Marcus Allen (145) into second all-time behind Rice.

Uncharted territory
Allen couldn't do it. Neither could Dorsett, Dickerson, Sanders or Payton. But with another 1,500-yard rushing season, Denver's Terrell Davis would become the first back with four 1,500 seasons in a row.

Changing of the guard
If he plays 12 games this year, Tennessee's Bruce Matthews will break Jackie Slater's record for most games played by an offensive lineman (259).

Making his points
Minnesota's Gary Anderson's perfect 1998 (35-for-35 field goals, 59-for-59 extra points, 164 points) put him in reach of a mark often considered unattainable: George Blanda's 2,002 career points. Anderson (1,845) needs 158 points to knock King George off his throne.

Still looking for a lucky seven
It's been 30 years since a quarterback has thrown seven touchdown passes in a game, when a quarterback named Joe performed the mythical feat. Surprisingly, it wasn't Broadway Joe Namath, but Minnesota's Joe Kapp.

Streaking toward a collision
Something's got to give Monday night, Sept. 13, when the Miami Dolphins take their NFL-longest seven-game Opening Day winning streak into Mile High Stadium to play the Denver Broncos, who have the second-longest streak at four games. Also, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan has never lost on Opening Day (6-0).

David Nielsen writes for Scripps Howard News Service. E-mail him at nielsend@shns.com.