Nflall Timesackrecords A Look At Single Season Single Game

Getting to the quarterback has long been one of the most disruptive and celebrated skills in the NFL. Across generations, elite pass rushers have built their legacies by consistently winning their matchups and living in the backfield. While team schemes and supporting casts matter, some seasons stand out for individual dominance. The numbers below represent the peak of pass-rushing production in a single year. From Myles Garrett and T.J.

Watt to Lawrence Taylor and Reggie White, here's a look at the players who etched their names into the top-10 list of single-season sack leaders. 1. Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns Sacks: 23.0 Year: 2025 Garrett entered Week 18 one sack shy of the single-season record, after he came up empty against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17. In the fourth quarter of the regular-season finale against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals, Garrett finally broke through, recording his 23rd sack to claim the record.

The previous mark of 22.5 sacks was held by Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan, who set it in 2001, and Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt, who matched it in 2021. 2. T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers Sacks: 22.5 Year: 2021 With an extra game added to the schedule for the 2021 season, it was widely assumed that many single-season records were in jeopardy. Watt, however, did not need 17 games to tie the record.

He missed two games -- and sat out most of a third -- due to injury. Watt's chance at eclipsing Strahan's mark was bolstered by his four-sack performance against the Cleveland Browns in Week 16. That left him just 1.5 sacks from setting the record heading into the season finale against the Baltimore Ravens. In the end, Watt recorded one sack in the first half to tie the historic mark.

He had two near-sack opportunities that were negated due to a Tyler Huntley fumble and an unnecessary roughness penalty on Cam Heyward. Michael Strahan, New York Giants Sacks: 22.5 Year: 2001 In the 2001 season finale, Strahan took down Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre for his record-setting sack, which came with its share of controversy. He landed on a sliding Brett Favre, which had many, including former record holder Mark Gastineau, questioning its legitimacy.

Strahan ended his career on a high note, upsetting the then-undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII and recording the final sack of his career against Tom Brady in the process. His No. 92 was retired by the Giants in 2021. 4. Mark Gastineau, New York Jets Sacks: 22 Year: 1984 The league began recording sacks as an official statistic in 1982, and it did not take long for Gastineau to assert his dominance.

The 22-sack mark came on a team with a trio of dominant defensive players, with Gastineau being the one to reach the milestone. He was a member of the Jets' early 1980s defensive front dubbed the "New York Sack Exchange." Gastineau became known for his sack dance, a signature celebration that he performed often until a March 1984 NFL ruling that declared it as "unsportsmanlike taunting." Jared Allen, Minnesota Vikings Sacks: 22 Year: 2011 New Year's Day is especially notable for Allen, who notched sack No. 22 in Minnesota's Jan.

1, 2011, regular-season finale against the Chicago Bears. His 3.5-sack performance left him just shy of Strahan's single-season total. "It's like being runner-up at the prom," Allen said of missing the record. "The crown doesn't weigh as much, I guess." Allen was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2025.

Justin Houston, Kansas City Chiefs Sacks: 22 Year: 2014 Like Allen, Houston also finished a half-sack short of Strahan's record, but it was a big leap for the Chiefs star, who notched 21 sacks in his previous two seasons combined. Despite leading the league in sacks, he didn't receive a vote for Defensive Player of the Year that season. 7. Chris Doleman, Minnesota Vikings Sacks: 21 Year: 1989 Doleman's dominant 1989 season led to a sack record.

He and teammate Keith Millard combined for 39 sacks, the most ever by a duo, and contributed to over half of the Vikings' league-leading 71 sacks. He retired with the most forced fumbles of any player since the NFL began tracking the statistic in 1999. Doleman was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012. Reggie White, Philadelphia Eagles Sacks: 21 Year: 1987 The NFL's 1987 strike shortened the season to 15 games, but that did not hinder White from etching his name in the record books.

He remains the Eagles' all-time sack leader, recording 124 sacks in 121 games, and is second to Bruce Smith on the NFL's all-time sack list. White, a 2006 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, had 13 consecutive Pro Bowl selections. At the time of his retirement in 2000 after 15 NFL seasons, no player had more than his 198 sacks. 9.

Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams Sacks: 20.5 Year: 2018 En route to Super Bowl LIII, Aaron Donald bullied offensive backfields and set the NFL record for sacks by an interior lineman. Donald, named the Rams' Player of the 2010s by ESPN, earned back-to-back NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2017 and 2018. 10. Lawrence Taylor, New York Giants Sacks: 20.5 Year: 1986 In 1986, Taylor became just the second defensive player to be named the league's MVP.

He had a career-high 20.5 sacks paired with 105 total tackles, 5 passes defensed and 2 forced fumbles. The Pro Football Hall of Famer is regarded as one of the best defensive players of all time.

People Also Asked

• List of NFL individual records - Wikipedia
• NFL All-Time Sack Records: A Look at Single-Season, Single ...
• NFL sack records: Most sacks in a game, season and career in ...
• Myles Garrett leads NFL's all-time single-season sack list
• Updated NFL single-season sack record: Who has the ... - AS USA
• NFL Single-Season Sack Records: Top 10 Leaders of All Time
• What Are The NFL's All-Time Single-Season Records?