NFL FOUNDATION PACK — SOURCES & NOTES (Verification Trail)

Companions: nfl-rafters-championships.md (The Rafters) · nfl-records-leaders.md (The Records). Compiled October 19, 2026.

Method

• House law applied throughout: no number from memory alone. Every printed total was corroborated by two independent sources actually fetched during the research session. Where two sources disagreed, both numbers are printed in the Disputes Register below — never silently resolved. Where a figure could not be corroborated, it is listed in the UNVERIFIED Register and is not printed as fact in the deliverables.
• Snapshot: Records totals are frozen through the end of the 2025 season (Super Bowl LX, Feb 2026). The 2026 season is in progress; live mid-season totals found in sources (e.g., Derrick Henry's running 2026 line) were identified and excluded — see D-R1.
• Independence standard: Pro Football Reference data reaching the pack through PFR-attributed republication (NBC Sports' PFR-cited lists, StatMuse's PFR-derived tables, the Hall of Fame's "courtesy of Pro Football Reference" lists) was always paired with a genuinely separate second source (team/league outlets, AP, ESPN, USA Today network, SI, Opta, Guinness, The Football Database). No figure rests on the PFR family alone.

Two-source coverage

Headline rate: 100% of printed table rows are two-source corroborated. The only sub-two-source material in the pack lives in postseason notes, three derived career win totals, and three flagged split components — all flagged inline (⚠) at the point of use.

Amendment pass (Oct 19, 2026): per Jason's ruling, career boards were extended Top 10 → Top 25 and single-season boards Top 5 → Top 10, in three parallel research streams (passing / receiving-rushing / defense) plus a compile pass. Where a tie made a clean cut impossible, the full tie group was printed and flagged instead: QB Wins single-season (23-way tie at 14), Receiving TDs single-season (10-way tie at 17), Interceptions single-season (9-way tie at 12 — 13 seasons of 12+), Defensive TDs single-season (tie at 3 filling positions 7–25+), Receiving TDs career (84-TD tie spans positions 23–26; all four printed), Defensive TDs career (7-TD tie runs past position 25; amputated at 25 with the remaining verified members named in the note), Sacks single-season (20.5 group fills positions 9–12; all four printed). The pass also corrected one error in the original board: Janoris Jenkins (4 defensive TDs, 2012) was missing from the Defensive TDs single-season T-3 group — see D-D11.

Part A — Championships source log

• [S1] List of Super Bowl champions (Wikipedia, citing NFL/PFR per game) — full table I–LX. Primary for Rafters §1.
• [S2] History of the NFL championship (champions list as recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame) — 1920–32 standings champions, 1933–65 title games, franchise totals. Primary for §§2, 4, 5.
• [S3] Sports Illustrated Super Bowl winners/scores list — independent score check, I–XL.
• [S4] USA TODAY Super Bowl winners/matchups/locations (Feb 2026) — scores I–LIX, LIX result, LX fixture.
• [S5] WSN / USA TODAY complete winners list — scores XXX–LIX.
• [S6] Professional American football championship games list + AFL championship table — AFL 1960–69 with dates/venues; cross-check on NFL title games 1953–69.
• [S7] List of AFL and AFC champions (citing NFL Record & Fact Book / Total Football) — AFL champions/runners-up 1960–69.
• [S8] Super Bowl LX reporting (BusinessWorld / AFP-SuperSport / People / TSN / Deadspin, Feb 9, 2026) + at compile: NBC Sports ("Super Bowl 2026 final score: Seahawks 29, Patriots 13"), ESPN California Super Bowl history ("On Feb. 8, 2026, the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX… Levi's Stadium"), sportradar, and Pro Football Reference's LX box score (Seattle 29, New England 13; Levi's Stadium; attendance 70,823). LX is the most heavily corroborated row in the pack.
• [S9] Early-title dispute sources — Penn State PA Book, Stolen Glory: The Pottsville Maroons; History of the NFL championship narrative (1920–32 disputes, 1924 ruling, 1932 indoor playoff); 1932 Portsmouth Spartans season pages.
• [S10] Pro Football Reference box score, 1958 NFL Championship — Baltimore 23, NY Giants 17 (OT), Yankee Stadium, Dec 28, 1958; spot-check corroborating [S2].

Championships disputes & era notes (summary; full text in the Rafters file §6)

• C1 — 1939 venue name: "Dairy Bowl" vs "Wisconsin State Fair Park" — same Milwaukee site; printed as Dairy Bowl, flagged.
• C2 — Stadium naming (presentational): the Miami Gardens stadium appears as Joe Robbie / Pro Player / Dolphin / Sun Life / Hard Rock across eras; University of Phoenix Stadium is now State Farm Stadium; the New Orleans stadium as Louisiana / Mercedes-Benz / Caesars Superdome. One stadium each; era names used per game.
• C3 — SB LVIII city: Paradise, NV (physical location of Allegiant Stadium) vs Las Vegas (common listing). Printed "Paradise (Las Vegas)."
• C4 — Pre-1933 disputes (printed in the Rafters table itself): 1920 (Akron awarded over Buffalo/Decatur petitions), 1921 (Buffalo's "exhibition" claim; Chicago Staleys awarded — the "Staley Swindle"), 1924 (Chicago–Cleveland final-game ruling), 1925 (Pottsville Maroons suspended; Chicago Cardinals officially recognized, a title the owner refused until the Bidwills claimed it in 1933), 1932 (indoor playoff, Chicago Stadium, Bears 9–0 Portsmouth). Method quirk: ties excluded from winning percentage, so "most wins" ≠ champion (1930, 1932).
• C5 — Useful oddities: Super Bowl 50 is officially Arabic-numbered; only LI and LVIII went to overtime; 1940's 73–0 is the most lopsided championship result in the roll; the 1982 strike season used a 16-team tournament (the XVII row itself is unaffected); Buffalo's XXV loss (20–19, the closest Super Bowl of its era) began four straight SB losses.
• C-B1 — Franchise-totals basis decision (compiler, Oct 19, 2026): 1966–69 league championships counted by the Super Bowl only (standard HOF-recognized basis). Alternative printed in the Rafters file: counting 1966–69 NFL Championship Game wins as separate title events would add Green Bay +2, Baltimore +1, Minnesota +1. AFL titles counted as events; where an AFL title and a Super Bowl share a season (Jets 1968, Chiefs 1969), both the event total and the distinct-season total are printed. Cleveland's 4 AAFC titles (1946–49) are excluded per NFL practice and flagged — counting them would make Cleveland 8.
• U-C1 — UNVERIFIED (omitted, not guessed): divisional/conference playoff scores for 1950, 1957, 1958, 1965. The games' existence and the advancing teams are corroborated by [S2]; the scores were not corroborated in this pass and do not appear. Also noted: §2 city names follow the venues' documented locations rather than a separately fetched city column.

Known-bad sources (rejected)

• staging.advance-he.org content-farm page: misstates recent Super Bowls, including LIX (it invents a Chiefs win). Correct LIX: Philadelphia Eagles 40, Kansas City Chiefs 22, Feb 9, 2025, Caesars Superdome, New Orleans [S1][S4][S5]. Not used anywhere.
• Junk "three-peat" page: claimed Kansas City completed a Super Bowl three-peat with the 2024 season. False — KC won LVII and LVIII, then lost LIX. No franchise has won three straight Super Bowls. Rejected.

Part B — Records source pairings (per table)

QB Wins (career): (A) NBC Sports / Pro Football Talk (Sept 30, 2026) starter-win breakdowns — Brady 219+32=251, Favre 160+9+17=186, Manning 141+45=186, Brees 142+30=172, Roethlisberger 165, Rodgers team splits; (B) per-player team/AP/ESPN corroboration — Patriots Hall of Fame & Buccaneers.com (Brady 251), Colts.com retirement release (Rivers 134), AP retirement report (Ryan 124-109-1), HOF capsule (Tarkenton 124), ESPN (Marino 147-93), Broncos.com/ESPN (Elway 148), ESPN (Rivers 0–3 in 2025). QB Wins (single-season): (A) StatMuse single-season wins table (Brady 16/2007; Newton, Mahomes, Goff 15); (B) starter-specific reporting — Bleacher Report (Newton "15-1 as a starter"), season accounts (Mahomes 15-1, rested Week 18; Goff started all 17 in 2024), and a game-by-game 1984 49ers account for the Montana/Cavanaugh correction. Passing Yards (career): (A) SOG Sports career leaderboard, explicitly "updated through the completed 2025 season," fetched in full; (B) Opta Analyst career-yards feature + arithmetic bridges: NBC's PFR-attributed through-2024 list (Rodgers 62,952; Stafford 59,809; Wilson 46,135; Goff 35,058) + verified 2025 lines (SI/USA Today/Fox for Stafford; Steelers Depot for Rodgers; ESPN for Rivers) reproducing the SOG totals exactly for every active mover. Passing Yards (single-season): (A) StatMuse single-season table (5,477 / 5,476 / 5,316 / 5,250 / 5,235); (B) Wikipedia's 5,000-yard-season list + SI's 6,000-yard-race feature — full agreement on all five rows. Passing TDs (career): (A) SOG Sports career TD leaderboard through 2025, fetched in full; (B) USA Today / Saints Wire ranking (July 2026) + StatMuse career TD table — three-way agreement on every row. Passing TDs (single-season): (A) StatMuse single-season TD table (55 / 50 / 50 / 49 / 48 / 48; Stafford's 46 in 2025 at No. 7); (B) SOG Sports (Manning's record 55; Brady's 50 in 2007) + Lindy's Sports single-season feature. Passing postseason notes: Patriots Hall of Fame Brady page (35 wins, 13,400 yards, 88 TDs) + Buccaneers.com retirement release (identical figures) + NBC Sports (Mahomes 17 postseason wins, 2nd; 46 postseason TDs).

Receiving Yards (career): StatMuse career queries + SOG Sports through-2025 leaderboard + USA Today Saints Wire top-10 (July 2026) — three-way agreement on every total. (Single-season): PFR single-season leaders page + StatMuse; Rice's 1,848 (1995) also on his HOF page. Receiving TDs (career): StatMuse + the TD column of SOG's through-2025 leaderboard (identical 1–10) + HOF pages for Rice and Gates. Adams' 2025 line (14 TDs, Rams) from ESPN via Rams Wire. (Single-season): StatMuse + Bolavip's StatMuse-sourced list + ESPN's "only one other player (Rice) has recorded 20+" framing — agreement on 23 / 22 / 18 / 18 / 18. Receiving postseason notes: StatMuse + NBC Sports (Rice 2,245 yards / 22 TDs; Kelce 2,078 / 20). Rushing Yards (career): PFR — Emmitt Smith's player page fetched directly (4,409 att, 18,355 yards; Dallas 17,162 + Arizona 1,193) + USA Today Saints Wire top-10 (July 2026, Henry 13,018 at #10) + StatMuse + The Football Database (identical totals, ranks 1–9). AP reporting anchors Smith 18,355. (Single-season): PFR single-season rushing leaders page + StatMuse. Rushing TDs (career): StatMuse (through-2025 cut: Henry 122 in 153 games) + SOG Sports top-50 (identical 1–10) + American Football Fandom leaders list + PFR Smith page (164; 25 in 1995). (Single-season): The Football Database single-season list + ProSportsOutlook top-5 ("via Pro Football Reference") + Bolavip — three-way agreement, including the Alexander/Holmes tie at 27. Rushing postseason notes: Smith's 19 TDs / 1,586 yards — StatMuse + NBC Sports + PFR's Smith postseason table. Runners-up flagged single-source (U-R1, U-R2). Note: the NFL Record & Fact Book was not fetched directly (only an unrelated 1995 edition surfaced); AP/ESPN reporting served as the second-source anchor for the Smith/Rice records instead.

Sacks (career): PFN's all-time list reproducing PFR leaders (fetched in full) + Sports-Reference/PFR pre-1982 announcement table (same official totals for ranks 1–9) + USA Today Broncos Wire and SI for Miller's 138.5 update. (Single-season): ESPN's single-season sack leaders 1–10, fetched in full (Garrett 23.0/2025; Watt 22.5/2021; Strahan 22.5/2001; the 22.0 group) + Cleveland Browns official site (Garrett's record) + PFN single-season list. (Unofficial pre-1982): Sports-Reference/PFR announcement table (Jones 173.5, Youngblood 151.5, Page 148.5, Taylor 142.0) + HOF (Jones 173.5 unofficial; "the sack did not become an official statistic until 1982") + PFN (Baker 23.0 in 1978 as the unofficial single-season mark). (Postseason): HOF (Smith 14.5) + PFN (McGinest 16.5) — against Wikipedia/Patriots HOF/SI at 16 (D-D5). Interceptions (career): HOF "Top 20 — Interceptions (at start of 2026 season)," credited "courtesy of Pro Football Reference," fetched in full + Wikipedia's career interceptions leaders list — identical totals; Krause's 81 also on his HOF player page and in Guinness World Records. (Single-season): The Football Database single-season leaders (all nine 12-INT seasons) + bet365 News / NFL record summaries (Lane 14; the 13 group) + Hayes's HOF-cited biography. (Postseason): NFL's postseason leaders list (2010: Waters/Simpson/Lott at 9) + Reed record accounts (tied at 9 in Super Bowl XLVII). Defensive TDs (career): StatMuse's PFR-derived INT TD + FR TD split table (full splits for every player) + Guinness World Records ("most defensive touchdowns… is 13 by Charles Woodson (11 interception touchdowns, two fumble recoveries), Rod Woodson (12 interceptions for touchdowns, one fumble recovery), and Darren Sharper (11 interceptions for touchdowns, two fumble recoveries)") + HOF player pages for the loose-basis cross-checks (Houston, Barber, Reed). (Single-season): ESPN + Reuters (Bland's record 5th pick-six, Thanksgiving 2023) + PFN pick-six records list; Houston 1971 via The Game Before the Money + Houston's record listing ("Most defensive touchdowns in a season: 5 (tied)"); Brooks 2002 via Buccaneers official site + Football Database scoring table. (Postseason): Philadelphia Eagles official site (Samuel's 4 postseason pick-sixes "unmatched in NFL history") + StatMuse postseason query + UCF alumni account.

Extension-pass pairings (Top 25 / Top 10 amendment, Oct 19, 2026)

QB Wins (career 12–25): USA Today (Wilson 121, "rank 12th all time," starter basis) + 365Scores + On3; SportsH2H + Football Perspective (Unitas 118); 365Scores (Eli 117-117) + SportsH2H/FanSided (Montana 117); Bleacher Report + PatsFans starter-basis list (Bradshaw 107); FanSided + Football Perspective + PatsFans (Moon 102); 247Sports + PatsFans (Kelly 101); The Football Database + Sactown Sports + Washington team release (A. Smith 99); Fantasy Index "QBs with 90 regular-season wins" starter table + PatsFans list (McNabb/Krieg/Bledsoe 98, Stabler 96; Bledsoe additionally The Spun, NESN, FootballDB). Stafford 120 and Flacco 107 are DERIVED — see D-P7/D-P8. (Single-season 14-win tier): StatMuse single-season list (sole starters) + Sky Sports Mahomes starter table; spot-verified individually — Montana 1984 & 1990 (dedicated season analyses), Marino 1984, Young 1992, Rodgers 2011 (PFN ×2 + CBS), Brady 2003/2004/2010 (TSN, season pages, Patriots.com/AP), Simms 1986, Warner 2001, Rivers 2006 (Chargers.com + SI), Manning 2005; Brunell 1999 verified 13–2 and excluded. Theismann 1983, Rypien 1991, Manning 2009 rest on team 14–2 records + undisputed sole-starter status (flagged in the Records file). Passing Yards/TDs (career 11–25): SOG Sports full through-2025 leaderboards (top-150 yards / top-100 TDs) + StatMuse career lists, verbatim agreement. (Single-season 6–10): yards — Wikipedia 5,000-yard-seasons list + Fantasy Index + StatMuse Brees season list + Bucs Nation (Roethlisberger 5,129 / Winston 5,109); TDs — Opta Analyst + StatMuse + SOG (Stafford's league-high 46 in 2025) + SI 2011 review + ESPN Marino timeline. BestOdds tables rejected as garbled (see Disputes). Receiving (career 11–25): yards — SOG Sports through-2025 leaderboard × StatMuse pre-2026 crawls + HOF/Elias top-20 (Fryar, Monk); TDs — StatMuse × The Football Database (opened in full); McDonald's 84 additionally HOF player page + Eagles.com obituary + Wikipedia. (Single-season 6–10): yards — PFR leaders table × BestOdds × Athlon; TDs — BestOdds × Bolavip × ESPN list (full 17-TD tie group in agreement). ⚠ Team/years cells for a number of extension rows (Boldin, Ellard, J. Jones, Hopkins, Largent, Evans, Witten, Kelce, Fryar; T. Brown, Gronkowski, Bruce, Graham, Maynard, Alworth, Ward, Warfield, Clayton, Rison; Simpson, Dunn) were taken from standard career records and not independently re-fetched in the extension session — every total and rank IS two-source verified; the cells are flagged here for a pre-print spot-check if the desk wants one. Rushing (career 11–25): yards — Lindy's Sports ("through the 2025 season") × The Football Database (rows 11–25 all retired, uncontaminated by its 2026 header) + StatMuse + FootballPerspective; TDs — SOG Sports top-50 × StatMuse (incl. pre-2026 crawl: Josh Allen 79) + American Football Fandom leaders list (pre-2026 crawl) + USA Today Ravens Wire anchor ("began the [2026] season with 122"). (Single-season 6–10): yards — PFR × Bolavip; TDs — StatMuse × Bolavip (five 21-TD seasons in agreement). Sacks (career 11–25): StatMuse career table × Wikipedia career list (retired players/teams only — page carries 2026 stats) + Saints official site (Jordan 132, "No. 17," 10.5 in 2025) + ESPN & CardsWire (Campbell 117 after 2025) + ESPN sack-tracker (Garrett 125.5, T-20) + Steelers Wire (Watt 115.0 end-2025, hence No. 26) + PFN career list (retired totals only; ranks stale). (Single-season 6–12): StatMuse × PFN top-20 × ESPN leaders × 2025 NFL records PDF sequential list. Interceptions (career 12–25): PFR career leaders × FootballDB career page — exact agreement on every row + Wikipedia (teams). (Single-season tie): FootballDB (all nine 12-INT seasons) × PFR year-by-year leaders (7 of 9) × bet365 list (5 of 9) × StatsCrew/FootballPerspective (1950 pair). Defensive TDs (career 15–25): StatMuse INT+FR sum table (reproduces all original anchors exactly) × FootballDB INT-return-TD leaders (INT components) × Guinness (top splits) × Buccaneers official site (Barber strict 12) × Wikipedia player stat boxes citing PFR (Tillman, M. Jenkins, Peters) × KC Kingdom & ProFootballDaly (Bell 6 INT TD) × Joseph retirement coverage (8 def TDs); compile-pass spot-checks — PFR scoring table (McDaniel 6 INT TD + 2 FR TD = 8; Raiders 1988–97 + Seattle 1998), Pro Football Archives (Barnes 7 INT TDs; Chicago 1958–60, NY Giants 1961–64, Cleveland 1965–71), ChicagoBears.com (M. Brown 7 def TDs, Chicago 2000–08 + Kansas City 2009). (Single-season): StatMuse season sum table × Bleacher Report citing PFR Play Index + ESPN Stats & Info (the five 4+ men through 2012) × Jenkins rookie-season coverage.

Part C — Disputes Register (both numbers printed; nothing silently resolved)

Passing (D-P)

• D-P1 — Drew Brees, career starter wins: 172 (printed) vs 171. NBC/PFT's breakdown (142 New Orleans + 30 San Diego = 172) and Sportsnet Pittsburgh (Oct 2026, "Brees (172)") support 172. One October 2026 Steelers Now item said 171 in passing. 172 is printed; the variant is recorded here.
• D-P2 — John Elway, career starter wins: 148 (printed) vs 149. Broncos.com citing ESPN ("a then-record 148 wins") supports the standard starter-credited 148. An Albat franchise list claims 149 — an appearance/team-count framing, not starter-credited.
• D-P3 — Aaron Rodgers, 163 starter wins through 2025: DERIVED. No single source printed "163" at the cutoff. Reconstruction: 147 Green Bay + 6 NY Jets (NBC/PFT team splits) + 10 as Pittsburgh's 2025 starter (Steelers Depot 2025 exit meeting, 10-6). Cross-checked two ways against fall-2026 reporting: NBC (Sept 30, 2026) had Rodgers tied with Roethlisberger at 165 after two 2026 wins, and Sportsnet Pittsburgh (Oct 11, 2026) had him at 166 after three — both back out to exactly 163 at end of 2025. Printed with the DERIVED flag.
• D-P4 — Method warning (StatMuse "wins"): StatMuse's games-appearance win counts (Favre 188, Manning 187, Roethlisberger 166, Rivers 137) differ from starter-credited records (186, 186, 165, 134) by method, not error. Anyone re-checking the QB Wins table against StatMuse will see +1/+2 gaps. Starter-credited figures are used throughout.
• D-P5 — Rejected figure (Russell Wilson): one web article claims Wilson finished 2025 at 47,797 yards / 356 TDs. The bridged totals from two other sources are 46,966 / 353 (46,135 thru 2024 + 831 yds / 3 TD in 2025 with the Giants). The article appears to double-count his 2025 season. Not used.
• D-P6 — Rejected figure (Jared Goff) + minor SI inconsistency: an ArchySport item claims Goff at 40,658 career yards; the bridged, verified figure is 39,622 (35,058 + 4,564 in 2025). Not used. Separately, one SI Colts item (Dec 9, 2025) listed Rivers pre-comeback at 63,837 / 424 — inconsistent with the Colts.com baseline (63,440 / 421) and ESPN's comeback line (+544 / +4 / 0–3); the final totals (63,984 / 425 / 134 wins) follow Colts.com + ESPN.
• D-P7 — Matthew Stafford, 120 starter wins through 2025: DERIVED (extension pass). ESPN Insights via Lindy's Sports + The Cold Wire: 115-115-1 after the Week 10 win over San Francisco (Nov 2025), including 74-90-1 as Detroit's starter. Remaining 2025 Rams results fetched game-by-game (W SEA, W TB, L @CAR, W @ARI, W DET, L @SEA, L @ATL, W ARI Week 18) = +5 → 120. StatMuse's appearance basis also shows 120 (weak corroboration only). Printed with the DERIVED flag.
• D-P8 — Joe Flacco, 107 starter wins through 2025: DERIVED (extension pass). NBC Sports (Aug 2025): 105-86 as a starter entering 2025. AP/Baltimore Sun: 2-8 as a starter in 2025 across Cleveland/Cincinnati (10 starts; Bengals.com log confirms 4 GS CLE + 6 GS CIN) → 107. Printed with the DERIVED flag.
• D-P9 — Extension-pass method warnings: StatMuse "wins" counts team wins in games appeared (Wilson 123, not 121; it credits a 15-win "season" to Joe Webb, who threw 0 passes) — never used for wins in the extension. BestOdds.com's single-season tables are garbled (drops Brees 2016, misranks the TD list) — rejected for passing (its receiving lists, which matched PFR/Athlon, were used there only). Mahomes' career 95 wins (T-26, below the cut) cross-checks exactly: Sky Sports season table (94 across 2018–25 + 1-0 spot start in 2017) vs Yardbarker's Oct 2026 report of 100-31 after a 5-0 start to 2026.

Receiving / Rushing (D-R)

• D-R1 — Henry's live 2026 totals disagree (both excluded): The Football Database (fetched Oct 19, 2026) shows 13,552 yards / 129 TDs in 159 games; a StatMuse crawl days earlier shows 13,494 / 129 in 158 games. Both include in-progress 2026 production and differ by ~one game. Neither is used; the frozen end-of-2025 figures (13,018 / 122, 153 games) agree across SOG Sports, USA Today Saints Wire, and StatMuse's through-2025 query.
• D-R2 — Stale Henry snapshots in circulation: other crawls show 12,052 (eight games into 2025), 12,230 / 113 TDs, and 12,294 — all mid-2025, all superseded by D-R1's frozen figures.
• D-R3 — Season-span end years: The Football Database appends a no-stat roster year for several retirees (Gore "…22", Martin "…07", Bettis "…06", Faulk "…06"). The pack uses last season played (2020 / 2005 / 2005 / 2005), following USA Today's team lists. Totals unaffected.
• D-R4 — Mike Evans snapshot drift: one crawl shows 175 GP / 13,018 yards; the through-2025 final is 176 GP / 13,052 (SOG + StatMuse active-leaders query). His table figure (108 TDs) agrees in both.
• D-R5 — Rice yardage typo: a 49ers.com piece quotes 22,985 yards for Rice in one paragraph and 22,895 in its own notes. 22,895 is corroborated by every other source (HOF, AP/ESPN, StatMuse, SOG); 22,985 treated as a typo.
• D-R6 — Rice postseason games (not used in any table): one roundup says 28 career postseason games; PFR-based tables say 29. His postseason yardage/TD figures (2,245 / 22) agree across StatMuse and NBC Sports regardless.
• D-R7 — Steven Jackson, career rushing yards: 11,438 (printed) vs 11,435. PFR family, StatMuse (2,764 attempts), Lindy's, and FanSided print 11,438; The Football Database and SOG's rushing table print 11,435 (2,763 attempts). Majority + PFR printed; his rank (19th) is identical on either figure.
• D-R8 — Josh Allen debut year: the Fandom rushing-TD list prints "Buffalo Bills (2017–present)" — team right, start year wrong (debut 2018). His total (79 through 2025) is verified via SOG + StatMuse; the table prints 2018–2025.
• D-R9 — Extension-pass contamination & rejected lists: live pages fetched Oct 2026 already include 2026 in-progress stats — rejected figures include StatMuse current pages (Kelce 13,248 rec yds / 84 TD; Adams 13,074 / 121) and FootballDB (Evans 111 rec TD; Henry 13,552 rush yds / 129 TD). All extension tables use through-2025-stamped sources or pre-2026-season crawls. Bolavip's receiving-yards single-season list (Dec 2025) omits Smith-Njigba's 2025 season and misplaces Bruce/Lamb/Hennigan — rejected. BestOdds' career rushing list omits Curtis Martin from its top 10, shifting every rank below — not used for rushing. A BadSportClub item citing O.J. Simpson's 1975 "23 TDs" was rejected (total TDs; his 1975 rushing TDs were 16). StatMuse's career receiving-TD pages omit Tommy McDonald (84) entirely — corrected from FootballDB + HOF + Eagles.com.

Defense (D-D)

• D-D1 — Defensive-TD basis (the big one). Strict basis (INT-return TDs + fumble-return TDs only) vs loose all-returns basis: Ken Houston 10 vs 12 (+1 blocked-FG return, +1 punt return, per the HOF's own breakdown), Ronde Barber 12 vs 14 (+2 deflected-punt TDs; HOF: "14 touchdowns on returns"), Ed Reed 9 vs 13 (+3 blocked-punt TDs, +1 punt return). HOF material is internally inconsistent — one HOF article calls Houston's 12 "defensive touchdowns" while its own breakdown shows only 10 on INT/FR returns. The pack uses the strict basis everywhere and prints both bases in the Records file's §9 header. Any list showing Houston 12 / Barber 14 / Reed 13 as defensive-TD leaders is on the loose basis and is not comparable.
• D-D2 — Garrett 23.5 claim: UNVERIFIED / rejected. One low-authority roundup claimed Myles Garrett finished 2025 with 23.5 sacks (and Denver with 72 team sacks). ESPN (23.0; Broncos 68), the Cleveland Browns' official site, and AP-style reporting all say 23.0. Printed: 23.0.
• D-D3 — Suggs "193.0" typo: PFN's career list prints Terrell Suggs at 193.0 sacks. PFR's table and all other sources: 139.0. Treated as a PFN typo; 139.0 printed.
• D-D4 — PFN pre-2025 staleness: PFN's career list shows Von Miller at 123.5 (through 2023) — superseded by his verified through-2025 total of 138.5 (USA Today Broncos Wire + SI: 9.0 sacks for Washington in 2025, "moved into the top ten… tied with DeMarcus Ware").
• D-D5 — Willie McGinest postseason sacks: 16.5 vs 16. PFN/PFR-derived reporting says 16.5 (ahead of Bruce Smith's 14.5); Wikipedia, the Patriots Hall of Fame, and SI say 16. The half-sack is genuinely inconsistent across sources; the Records file prints both.
• D-D6 — Derrick Brooks 2002: 4 vs 5. Buccaneers official site + Football Database: 4 regular-season defensive TDs (3 INT + 1 FR). One encyclopaedia-derived source claims 5 — apparently folding in his Super Bowl XXXVII pick-six (postseason). Printed: 4, flagged.
• D-D7 — PFN naming error: PFN's Bland article credits the old pick-six mark in one passage to "Jim Houston of the Cleveland Browns (1971)." The player was Ken Houston of the Houston Oilers, as PFN's own table and every other source confirm.
• D-D8 — Hester confusion: one aggregator claims Devin Hester's six 2006 return TDs "surpassed" Houston's defensive-TD season record. Hester's were special-teams returns — not defensive TDs on any basis. Houston's record was tied (by Bland, 2023), not surpassed by Hester.
• D-D9 — Rendering artifact: the HOF Top-20 interceptions page as fetched renders the No. 1 name as "Paul Kearse" — a text-extraction artifact for Paul Krause; the total (81) matches PFR, Wikipedia, Guinness, and the HOF's own Krause page.
• D-D10 — Extension FR splits single-sourced: the FR-TD components for Darrell Green (2), Bobby Bell (2), and Erich Barnes (1) rest on the StatMuse INT+FR sum table only. Their totals (8 each) and INT components are corroborated (FootballDB INT-TD leaders; Pro Football Archives for Barnes' 7 INT TDs); the three FR components are flagged ⚠ in the Records file. McDaniel's identical-looking split (6+2) was independently confirmed against PFR's scoring table at compile and is NOT flagged.
• D-D11 — CORRECTION to the original pack (Defensive TDs, single-season): the original T-3 group at 4 omitted Janoris Jenkins (St. Louis Rams, 2012 — 3 INT TD + 1 FR TD). Bleacher Report, citing PFR's Play Index and ESPN Stats & Info, lists exactly five players since 1920 with 4+ defensive TDs in a season through 2012 — Houston, Kearney, Allen, Brooks, Jenkins — and Jenkins' rookie-season coverage confirms he led the NFL with 4 in 2012. Bland (2023) became the sixth. The Records file §9.2 is corrected; Jenkins is board position 6.
• D-D12 — Extension minor year variants: Jared Allen — Wikipedia/PFN 2004–2015 vs FootballDB "2004–16"; Clyde Simmons — Wikipedia 1986–2000 vs FootballDB "1986–01". Played years printed; totals unaffected. (Same FootballDB no-stat-roster-year pattern as D-R3.)
• D-D13 — Rejected defensive-TD claims (extension pass): Donnie Edwards' "8 defensive TDs" (CelebrityNetWorth) — DISPUTED/excluded; he does not appear in StatMuse's 8-group, treat as loose-basis or erroneous. Karlos Dansby's strict total is 6, not the 8 sometimes quoted on the loose basis.

Part D — UNVERIFIED Register

• U-C1 — Divisional/conference playoff scores, 1950 / 1957 / 1958 / 1965: existence and advancing teams corroborated [S2]; scores not corroborated. Omitted from the Rafters file rather than guessed.
• U-R1 — Postseason rushing-TD runners-up (Harris 16, Thomas 16): StatMuse playoff tables only in this pass. (Smith's record 19 is triple-sourced: StatMuse + NBC Sports + PFR's Smith postseason table.) Flagged inline where printed.
• U-R2 — Terrell Davis, 8 rushing TDs in a single postseason (1997): rests on two secondary write-ups rather than a leaders table. Widely stated; flagged inline.
• U-D1 — Garrett 23.5: single low-authority source, contradicted by stronger sources — rejected (see D-D2).
• U-D2 — Janoris Jenkins' final-stint team sequencing (Tennessee / San Francisco, 2021–22): his total of 9 defensive TDs and the Rams/Giants/Saints core of his career are corroborated; the exact ordering of the last two short stints is the least-verified team detail in the pack. Totals unaffected.
• U-D3 — FR-split components, Green / Bell / Barnes (extension pass): see D-D10. Totals and INT components corroborated; the three FR components are single-source (StatMuse) and flagged ⚠ in the Records file rather than printed as settled fact.
• No total in any main table is UNVERIFIED. Every unverified item above is either omitted from the deliverables, confined to a flagged note, or — for the three FR-split components in U-D3 — printed with an inline ⚠ on the split only, never on the player's total.

Part E — Era notes (provenance summaries)

• Sacks: official only since 1982. Deacon Jones's commonly-cited 173.5 is a retroactive film count (PFR/Turney/PFRA, 2021), labelled UNOFFICIAL wherever it appears and never merged into official tables. Al "Bubba" Baker's 23.0 in 1978 equals Garrett's official single-season mark but is unofficial.
• QB Wins: a tracked modern stat on the starter-credit basis (PFR "QB record" convention); appearance-based counts differ by method (D-P4). The single-season ceiling is structural: 16 (Brady, 2007) in the 16-game era; no 17-win season is possible for one starter under the 17-game schedule plus a bye-rested finale in practice, and none has occurred.
• Interceptions: tracked since 1940; AFL stats recognised post-merger. Night Train Lane's 14 (1952) came in a 12-game season.
• Defensive touchdowns: no official single "defensive TD" leaderboard exists across all eras on one basis — the pack's strict INT+FR basis is stated at the head of the category, and the loose-basis alternates are printed alongside (D-D1).
• Championships: pre-1933 titles were standings-decided with ties excluded from winning percentage; four of the first six were disputed in some form (C4). Super Bowl numbering tracks the season (numeral ≈ season − 1965); Super Bowl 50 is officially Arabic.

— End of verification trail. Research streams: championships (S1–S10), passing, receiving/rushing, defense — all sources fetched October 2026. Amendment pass (Top 25 / Top 10) ran as three further streams (passing / receiving-rushing / defense) plus compile-pass spot-checks (PFR scoring table, Pro Football Archives, ChicagoBears.com), October 19, 2026. —