But that was hardly the only NFL single-season that was under assault by record New England's potent offense.
The Patriots crushed foes thanks to quarterback Tom Brady, an influx of fleet, sure-handed receivers and a relentless offensive philosophy.
Six notable records, including Peyton Manning's mark for touchdown passes and Jerry Rice's receiving touchdown record now belong to New England.
Here's a rundown of what the Patriots did during the 2007 regular season.
Click here for complete statistics on New England.";
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spt_Patriots_record_tracker[i-1].body = "Unbeaten regular season
Old record: 14-0, 1972 Dolphins
Patriots: 16-0.
Technically, New England can set the record for wins a regular season with 16, but did so because of two extra games on the schedule. The Pats joined Miami as the only team to accomplish that feat in the Super Bowl era. If they also win the Super Bowl, 19 wins would be a record in one season.
TD passes
Old record: 49, Peyton Manning
Brady: 50.
Peyton Manning's record is just three years old. But all eyes have been on this mark since Tom Brady started the season with 10 touchdown passes in his first three games, and had 11 in Weeks 6 and 7. The record setter came, fittingly enough, on a 65-yard bomb to Randy Moss.
Receiving TDs
Old record: 22, Jerry Rice
Moss: 23.
Randy Moss caught a TD pass in 14 of New England's 16 games and nabbed 4 in Week 11. He fell short of Rice's receiving yards mark, but four touchdowns in the Patriots' final two games sent him past Rice's 1987 record. (Amazingly enough, Rice set the record in just 12 games, with 66 receptions.)
Point differential
Old record: 292, 1942 Bears
Patriots: 315.
A 21-point win against the Dolphins wrapped up this record for New England. The Giants didn't allow New England to stretch it out much more, though.
Team touchdowns
Old record: 70, 1984 Dolphins
Patriots: 75.
Four touchdowns against the Dolphins locked up this record for New England. Four more in the finale may have made it unbreakable.
Scoring
Old record: 556, 1998 Vikings
Patriots: 589.
Moss was a rookie when the '98 Vikings stormed to a 15-1 record behind its amazing offense. The Patriots, despite just 20 points vs. the Jets in Week 15, entered their finale just seven points shy of this record. A Brady-to-Moss touchdown finalized it. ";
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spt_Patriots_record_tracker[i-1].body = "Scoring average
Record: 38.83, 1950 Rams
Patriots: 36.81
The Patriots were on pace to beat the Rams' mark until a 20-10 win over the Jets in Week 15. They needed to score another 33 points in their 38-35 win against the Giants to set this mark.
Passing yards
Record: 5,084, Dan Marino, 1984
Brady: 4,806.
Marino's record -- set in 1984 when he also threw 48 touchdowns, remains the one standard today's modern passing game still can't touch. Tom Brady, even throwing deep to Randy Moss, fell short by more than 200 yards.
Completion percentage
Record: 70.55, Ken Anderson, 1982
Brady: 68.86 (398 of 578).
Anderson completed 218-of-309 passes during the Bengals' 7-2, strike-shortend season. (Oddly enough, he had nine interceptions, one more than Brady in almost 200 more attempts). Brady started the season completing almost 75 percent of his passes, but the bad December weather conspired against him.
Passer rating
Record: 121.1, Peyton Manning, 2004
Brady, through Week 16: 117.2.
Manning broke Steve Young's record during his TD flurry three years ago. For Brady to break the TD record and the passer rating in the same season would only be fitting. But a two-interception gtame against the Dolphhins derailed this record.
Chances of new record: Slight.";
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spt_Patriots_record_tracker[i-1].body = "First downs
Record: 398, 2004 Chiefs
Patriots: 393.
Priest Holmes and the Kansas City offense was a yard-churning machine three years ago, racking up touchdowns and first down. Yet the Patriots nearly surpasses this with an emphasis on the passing game, which shows the Patriots have re-defined the method.
Total team passing yards
Record: 5,492, Rams, 2000
Patriots: 4,747.
Kurt Warner threw for 3,400 yards. Trent Green added another 2,000. It seemed that anyone who stepped into Mike Martz's \"Greatest Show on Turf\" would rack up the yards with Marshall Faulk, Torry Holt and Issac Bruce out there. Brady has all but 52 of the Patriots' passing yards. He couldn't pass Marino, let alone Warner and Green.
Total yards gained
Record: 7,335, 2000 Rams
Patriots: 6,580.
The Rams' defense was legendary in 2000 -- for being a sieve. St. Louis went 10-6 only because its offense was so prolific the year after it won the Super Bowl. The Patriots haven't had the same sense of desperation this season, which has cut down on their sheer number of yards.";
// END editorial data