METAIRIE, La. -- Michael Thomas' first two seasons were already historic.
Turns out, he was capable of even more.
The New Orleans Saints receiver set another NFL mark with 28 catches through the first two weeks of this season -- including two touchdowns in the fourth quarter of Sunday's come-from-behind 21-18 win over the Cleveland Browns.
The previous mark of 26 was set by Andre Rison in 1994.
Thomas had already set the NFL mark for the most catches through the first two seasons of a career with 196 from 2016-17. But the Saints have had to rely on him even more during these first two weeks since they have been playing from behind in both games.
Thomas set a franchise record with 16 catches for 180 yards and a touchdown in a 48-40 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1. He caught 12 passes for 89 yards and two TDs against Cleveland.
He also lost a fumble in each game, however. So Thomas said he was determined to make up for his mistakes when he caught the TD passes of 2 and 5 yards in the fourth quarter Sunday.
"Make a play, make a play. Enough was enough," said Thomas, who had previously lost only two fumbles in his career, both as a rookie. "I needed to respond and help my teammates, and that's what I did. And I still owe them. So it's gonna be a great week of preparation again this week and work on protecting the ball and getting off to a faster start."
Thomas, who gave himself the nickname "Can't Guard Mike" while at Ohio State, has never shied away from heaping high expectations on himself.
When he set the Saints' franchise record in Week 1, he used the hashtag #NoRecordIsSafeTour Vol. 3 on Twitter.
But Thomas also didn't dwell Sunday on the importance of setting a record just two weeks into the season.
"It's a long season, man. I'm trying to play in the championship. I'm trying to play in the Super Bowl," Thomas said. "I'm trying to do big things here, so individual stats at the end of the day, with a player of my caliber and the guy behind center and the offensive line and all the tools around me, I'm gonna catch a lot of footballs. I'm gonna get open. I've been doing that my whole life. So now what can I do to add value to this team and take the next step?"
Thomas is particularly dangerous in the red zone with his big 6-foot-3, 212-pound frame. But last year defenses made it a priority to swarm him in that area, which led to him catching only five touchdowns in the regular season (and two more in the playoffs).
So Thomas was grateful to get the call in that situation twice Sunday -- especially when quarterback Drew Brees threw up the last one and let Thomas "win" despite tight coverage by Browns rookie cornerback Denzel Ward.
Thomas and Ward did some hand-fighting as they jockeyed for position, but Thomas outmuscled him and went up to get the ball.
Brees said he saw the Browns defense "cheating over there" in Thomas' direction, but, "I still had a place where I felt like I could throw it where he could get it and they couldn't."
"I take a lot of accountability when [Brees] is back there behind center and he gives me an opportunity to make a play. I value that a lot. I try to be as aggressive as possible and make the play and do something with it," Thomas said. "I want to say during the week, I wasn't the guy getting the ball on that play. But I knew if it came my way, I had to make a play and enough was enough [after the early struggles in the game]."