Patriots quarterback Tom Brady escapes the clutches of Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor during the third quarter yesterday.

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

FOXBORO — Records. They’ve got records. They’ve got stacks and stacks of records.

The list of records the Patriots already have set this spectacular season is longer than Randy Moss’ reach. The number of records they could break or equal in the final regular-season game Saturday night in Giants Stadium rivals the number of women who’d love to date Tom Brady. Well, OK, maybe not quite that many — but it’s a lot.

Speaking of Brady, he threw for three touchdowns yesterday against the Dolphins, leaving him one shy of Peyton Manning’s NFL record of 49, set in the 2004 season.

Two of those TD tosses were to Moss, who now has 21 this year — one shy of Jerry Rice’s NFL record of 22, set in 1987.

By beating Miami, 28-7, the Patriots won for the 18th consecutive time in the regular season, tying their own NFL record, set in 2003-04.

Those 28 points gave the Pats 551 for the season, just five shy of the record 556 set by the Vikings in 1998.

Their four touchdowns yesterday gave the Patriots 71 this season — breaking the NFL record of 70 held by the 1984 Miami Dolphins.

Outscoring their overmatched opponents, 551-239, the Patriots have the highest single-season point differential in NFL history. They set a franchise record for total net yards in a season when Laurence Maroney ran 59 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. They also set a franchise record for most first downs in a season, with 366.

And there’s more. Lots more.

None of which means a thing to the Patriots, who have only one record in mind: 19-0. That’s the only mark that matters to them.

They’re 15-0 now, the only team in NFL history ever to reach that point in the regular season. If they beat the Giants, the Patriots will join the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only teams in NFL history to finish the regular season undefeated. Those Dolphins were 14-0 in the regular season, then won three more games in the playoffs, completing the one-and-only perfect season in league history by beating the Redskins, 14-7, in Super Bowl VII.

Winning Super Bowl XLII is the only goal, the only achievement, the Patriots care about.

“Getting to the final game, and winning, is our goal,” said cornerback Ellis Hobbs, succinctly summing up what this record-setting season is all about for him and his teammates.

Wes Welker caught five passes yesterday, enabling him to hit the century mark. He now has a career high 100 receptions, one shy of the franchise record set by Troy Brown in 2001.

While Welker obviously would like to set the record, and almost certainly will Saturday night — preferably on a TD toss from Brady that would at least equal, or, better yet, break Manning’s mark — Welker insists that getting to 16-0 is the only record that concerns him, or anybody else in a New England uniform.

“It’s nothing Tom worries about,” he said. “It’s nothing we worry about. We’re just trying to execute and run our plays. If you worry about the other stuff, your execution goes down.”

Perhaps, though they’d never admit it, the Patriots were a bit worried about the “other stuff” in the second half, when Brady appeared to force several deep balls to a well-covered Moss, and the Pats were held scoreless by a Miami team that has won only once all season.

“We were trying to run our offense,” said coach Bill Belichick. “That’s all we did.”

Asked about the “historical significance” of being 15-0, Belichick replied in his usual, brusque manner: “We’re not really too hung up on that. We’re just — we’ll get ready for next week. We’ll take one week at a time and get ready for next week.”

Then, displaying a bit of dry humor, he smiled wryly and added: “I’m sure that’s what you were looking for.”

To Belichick’s credit, his Patriots are never caught looking back on past achievements, nor looking any further ahead than the next game.

“We look at each week as its own week,” he said, “so I’m not going to worry about what happened last week, or two weeks ago, or five weeks ago. It doesn’t make any difference. Right now, all we’re concerned about is this week. That’s what we’ll put our focus on.”

In order to go 19-0, which is the ultimate goal, the Patriots first have to go to New York and beat the Giants to get to 16-0. If a few records fall in the process, great. If not, it doesn’t matter, as long as the team’s won-lost record remains unblemished.

“It’s just records,” veteran safety Rodney Harrison said of the multitude of marks the Patriots have set, or are on the verge of setting. “It has no bearing on what we need to do to stay focused.

“The media has made a big fuss (about going 16-0), but it’s business as usual for us. We’re going to have a day or two off, then come back on Wednesday and focus on the Giants.”

“That’s how we get to where we want to go — step-by-step,” Hobbs said.

“It’s the team records,” Brady said, “that are really fun — points scored, touchdowns. Those are pretty cool records, considering the history of the NFL and the incredible offensive teams that have played. To think we’re up there with the best of them is exciting.

“But winning is what’s most important. That’s really what everyone’s concerned with.”

jdonalds@projo.com