The Pittsburgh Steelers have one game left to play in the regular season. A few players have some notable records on the horizon that they could reach, assuming that they play. One mark that will not be reached this year is Ben Roethlisberger’s single season touchdown record of 34. The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback has 33 this year, but head coach Mike Tomlin has already said that he would not play in the finale.
There is T.J. Watt, who figures to play at least a bit, and is just one sack away from tying the team’s all-time single season sack record. He is at 15 after recording two in his last time out, and his next would tie James Harrison’s record set in 2008. One and a half or more would break it.
Then there is Chase Claypool, the wide receiver who is in range of a number of rookie records for receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, and overall touchdowns. He currently has 57 receptions for 772 yards and eight receiving touchdowns, 10 scores overall.
How close is he to setting new records? Well, he is four receptions back from the Steelers’ all-time rookie record of 61, set by Troy Edwards in 1999. He has caught at least four passes in eight games this year, including on Sunday, and he has four games with five or more receptions, so there’s a very good chance of him at least matching this record.
The Steelers’ all-time rookie record for receiving touchdowns is held by Louis Lipps with nine, set in 1984. Claypool has eight receiving touchdowns, so he needs just one to tie it. Lipps and Franco Harris share the team’s all-time rookie scoring record with 11 total touchdowns. Claypool is also one off from tying that, currently with 10 total touchdowns, adding two rushing scores.
He has scored at least one touchdown in six different games this season, and he has two multiple-touchdown games as well, but he hasn’t gotten into the end zone in each of the past five weeks. He has a couple of drops in the end zone in that span.
The most difficult record to seize would be the receiving yardage record. JuJu Smith-Schuster broke an old Jimmy Orr record in 2017 when he reached 917 yards, but it would be hard for Claypoool to get there. He only has one 100-yard receiving game this season, and he would need 145 to tie the record. His career-high is 110.
There is a good chance that the rookie gets a lot of playing time in this game, and the Cleveland Browns will be playing without starting safety Andrew Sendejo, so that could help. He did score a rushing touchdown the first time he faced Cleveland, also catching four passes for 74 yards, his third-most yardage total of the year.
