Sacks have always been a delight for defenses and a nightmare for offenses. Let’s take a look at some of the best NFL sack leaders.
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Not a lot of things on the defensive side of football are more exciting than sacking the quarterback. It energizes your entire team, the fans, and puts your opponent in a difficult position. This is the play to make if you want to change the momentum.
For the unversed, in football, a sack occurs when a defender tackles the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage while the quarterback is in possession of the ball. Sacks result in down and yardage loss and are most likely to happen during a blitz, which occurs when the defense sends extra players to rush the quarterback.
NFL Sack leaders:
1. Von Miller – 8.0
2. DeMarcus Ware – 7.0Oh, and they’ve had their bye week. pic.twitter.com/fkIgfcRDkz
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) October 20, 2014
Sacks has been in the NFL since we can remember. While they’ve always been a defense’s dream and an offense’s nightmare, many football fans are unaware of the origins of the term “sack.”
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines a sack as “a usually rectangular-shaped bag.” If that’s the case, what does it have to do with the football term “sack”? It may seem unlikely, but these two spellings of the same word are more closely related than you think.
David ‘Deacon’ Jones, a Hall of Fame defensive lineman in the NFL and one of the most prolific sack artists in NFL history, popularized the term. He began using the term after hearing it used by his coach, George Allen, during one of his motivational speeches.
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Some all time best sack leaders in the NFL
- Bruce Smith 200 sacks
- Reggie White 198 sacks
- Kevin Greene 160 sacks
- Julius Peppers 159.5 sacks
- Chris Doleman 150.5 sacks
- Michael Strahan 141.5 sacks
- Jason Taylor 139.5 sacks
- Terrell Suggs 139 sacks
- Demarcus Ware 138.5 sacks
- Richard Dent / John Randle 137.5 sacks
#NFL Sack Leaders #Raiders Maxx Crosby – 6#49ers Nick Bosa – 6#Cowboys Micah Parsons – 6#Patriots Matthew Judon – 6 pic.twitter.com/hh8m6BxVwy
— NFL Rumors (@nflrums) October 11, 2022
NFL sack leaders for 2021-22
| Name | Team | Age | Sacks in 2021-22 |
| Maxx Crosby | Las Vegas Raiders | 24 | 8 |
| Khalil mack | Los Angles Chargers | 31 | 6 |
| Chandler Jones | Las Vegas Raiders | 32 | 10.8 |
| Danielle Hunter | Minnesota Vikings | 27 | 6 |
| Joye Bosa | Los Angeles Chargers | 27 | 10.5 |
| Nick Bosa | San Francisco 49ers | 24 | 15.5 |
| Trey Hendrickson | Cincinnati Bengals | 27 | 14 |
| Aaron Donald | Los Angeles Rams | 31 | 12.5 |
| T.J. Watt | Pittsburgh Steelers | 27 | 22.5 |
| Myles Garrett | Cleveland Browns | 26 | 16 |
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