The Seattle Seahawks have a chance to get back above .500 on Sunday.
Their leading receiver could leave with an NFL record as well.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba needs 120 receiving yards against the Arizona Cardinals to pass Tyreek Hill.
Hill posted 1,104 yards through nine games in 2022, the most in the Super Bowl era. Smith-Njigba enters the Nov. 8 matchup with 985.
Seahawks.com’s John Boyle outlined the milestones Friday, ahead of Seattle’s second meeting with Arizona this season.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba Has Multiple Milestones Within Reach
A 120-yard game would put Smith-Njigba at 1,105 yards, one beyond Hill’s mark.
He needs only 15 yards to reach 1,000 for the third consecutive season. That would place him alongside Tyler Lockett and Hall of Famer Steve Largent in Seahawks history.
A 100-yard performance carries its own distinction. Only Adam Thielen and Michael Irvin have reached that threshold in eight of a season’s first nine games.
The 24-year-old has already done it seven times this year.
Seattle’s official statistics list him with 64 catches and nine receiving touchdowns. He averages 15.4 yards per reception.
His 985 yards account for more than half of the team’s 1,914 net passing yards. Seattle’s next-leading receiver, Cooper Kupp, has 206.
Those numbers show how much the passing game has depended on Smith-Njigba through eight games.
Drew Lock Returns Against Cardinals Defense
Drew Lock will start while Sam Darnold recovers from a quad injury.
Lock threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns in Seattle’s Week 2 victory at Arizona. He finished that game without a turnover, according to Boyle’s report on his return to the lineup.
Smith-Njigba heads into the rematch coming off six catches, 118 yards and a touchdown against the Chicago Bears.
The production did little to soften a 34-17 loss. Seattle converted just one of 11 third downs and fell to 4-4.
“We didn’t execute well. Plain and simple,” Smith-Njigba said, per Seahawks.com’s Ari Horton.
He passed Joey Galloway for eighth on Seattle’s career receiving list during that defeat, reaching 4,458 yards.
Against Chicago, Seattle’s next-highest receiving total belonged to Tory Horton, who finished with 26 yards on three catches. Kupp scored on his lone reception, a 7-yarder.
Smith-Njigba supplied most of the yardage, but the offense spent too little time on the field to keep pace.
Sunday brings a shot to add a league record to those franchise milestones, as the Seahawks need his catches to help sustain drives, too.
Seahawks’ Smith-Njigba Chases 8-Time Pro Bowler’s NFL Record vs. Cardinals