METAIRIE, La. — As much as the Saints emphasize that winning comes before setting records, players such as Pierre Thomas don’t want to diminish the value of making history.

“It means a lot,” the running back said after Thursday’s practice. “It’s something that I’m always going to have to cherish for the rest of my life and say, `I was a part of that team when we did that.”‘

In this case, Thomas was referring to records the Saints offense already has set through 15 games.

New Orleans has 6,857 yards from scrimmage this season, easily eclipsing the previous club mark of 6,571 set in 2008. Thomas, who often turns screen passes into substantial gains, also helped quarterback Drew Brees throw for an NFL record 5,087 yards this season, breaking Dan Marino’s 27-year-old mark of 5,084.

Heading into Sunday’s season finale against Carolina, the Saints’ offense is 219 yards from breaking the NFL team record of 7,075 yards set by the 2000 St. Louis Rams.

While Thomas won’t deny he’d like to see the Saints capture that mark against the Panthers, he’s a little less comfortable talking about something that has not yet been accomplished.

“We have to treat it just like any other game we’ve been playing, no matter what record is in front of us that we might be able to break,” Thomas said of Sunday’s regular-season finale in the Superdome. “We have to go out there and play our game. Otherwise if we go out there thinking about records and not staying focused, we’re going to lose this game.”

The yardage mark is one of several records the Saints could set. They are 10 completions from breaking the single-season NFL mark of 450, set in 2010 by both New Orleans and Indianapolis. They need nine points to break the club record 510 they scored in 2009.

One dilemma for Saints coach Sean Payton is that the result of New Orleans’ matchup with Carolina might have no bearing on playoff seedings. Scoreboard updates all around the Superdome will show how San Francisco is faring in its bid to lock up the No. 2 seed in St. Louis. If the 49ers win, the Saints cannot improve their No. 3 seeding in the NFC.