Several Commanders stars are chasing NFL history this season

Every NFL player taking the field when the Washington Commanders and Las Vegas Raiders take the field for Week 3 is doing so with one long-term goal in mind: Winning the Super Bowl.

Doing so ensures NFL immortality as each member of the winning team goes into the record books as a football champion for all eternity. However, for the members of the Commanders and Raiders squads, there are other ways to build a legacy to be remembered for ages as well.

While Washington and Las Vegas can't win Super Bowls this Sunday, each has several players who can take a step forward in carving out legendary legacies all the same.

Terry McLaurin's Chase for Consistency

Star receiver Terry McLaurin has seven catches through two games for a total of 75 yards, but has yet to reach the end zone.

The modest start to the year has McLaurin on track to collect just under 60 receptions this season and less than 700 yards. The good news, of course, is that we all know there are bigger and better games in the receiver's future, and the odds that he'll eventually become the third player in NFL history to have at least 50 receptions and 900 receiving yards in each of his first seven seasons is more than feasible.

If McLaurin can get that number over 75 receptions and 1,000 yards then he'll become the third player in league history to have those numbers in six of his first seven NFL seasons.

Reaching either of these milestones, or both, starts this weekend, with an opportunity to produce against a vulnerable Raiders secondary.

Washington Commanders tight end Zach Ertz (86). | Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Vets Climbing the All-Time Ranks

Two other Washington veterans who spent the majority of their careers elsewhere are nearing historic milestones as well, and can take significant steps toward reaching them in Week 3.

Tight end Zach Ertz is 32 receptions behind Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe for fifth all-time at the position. Furthermore, one more 10-catch game will move him into third place all-time in that stat category.

Meanwhile, linebacker Bobby Wagner needs 69 tackles in the remainder of the season to reach 90, giving him his 14th consecutive NFL season with as many, something only matched by Washington legend London Fletcher since 2000.

Receiver Deebo Samuel is nearing a rare NFL feat of having 5,000 receiving yards and 1,000 rushing yards in his first seven seasons. If Samuel records 87 yards receiving in Week 3, he'll become the third player in history to reach the mark, joining Washington legends Bobby Mitchell and Charley Taylor.

Washington Commanders wide receiver Deebo Samuel (1). | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Next Generation

Quarterback Jayden Daniels has been ruled out, so he won't be able to gain any ground on his own milestone pursuits and will remain 524 rushing yards shy of becoming the third ever to have 1,500 in his first two seasons. Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens) and Justin Fields (New York Jets) are the only two thus far to have reached that number.

For the Raiders, tight end Brock Bowers is on pace to break receiving records for tight ends in his first two seasons and defensive end Maxx Crosby is closing in on legends like J.J. Watt and Aaron Donald in tackles for loss.

The primary goal on Sunday is a team win, of course, but there are plenty of individual accolades on the line when the Commanders host Las Vegas Sunday afternoon inside Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland.

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