Tag: sacks

Trent McDuffie led all cornerbacks in QB pressures during 2023 regular season

#Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie tallied the most QB pressures of anyone at his position during the 2023 regular season.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ defense turned a corner in 2023, and cornerback Trent McDuffie played a huge part in the unit’s resurgence. The second-year defender was a nightmare for opposing receivers in coverage, but another aspect of his game helped lead Kansas City’s identity change in a more subtle way.

According to the Chiefs’ official Twitter account, McDuffie led all cornerbacks in the NFL in quarterback pressures during the regular season.

While most defensive backs don’t make their money as blitzes, McDuffie broke the mold in Kansas City’s 11-win campaign, tallying three sacks in addition to his many pressures.

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo made an effort to get creative this season, and McDuffie’s involvement in the pass rush paid dividends for a unit that desperately needed to be revitalized.

Fans should expect McDuffie’s prowess as a blitzer to be leveraged in the Chiefs’ game plan for the Wild Card round of the playoffs.

Wisconsin legend T.J. Watt is nearing an NFL record

A former Wisconsin Badger now leads the NFL in sacks

Former Wisconsin Badger T.J. Watt is dominating yet another football game. The former Badger just recently got home twice to sack Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley, his 18th and 19th sacks of the season respectively.

Watt entered the afternoon tied with Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson for the league lead with 17 sacks. Today’s tallies put Watt in the solo lead with the regular season coming to a close.

The future Hall of Fame linebacker’s season numbers are now up to 68 tackles, 19 sacks, 18 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and one interception.

If the result stands, Watt would also be the only player in NFL history to lead the NFL in sacks in three different seasons. He’s previously done it in 2020 and 2021.

It’s the conclusion of another NFL season, and T.J. Watt remains one of the most dominant defenders in the league.

Broncos OLB Jonathon Cooper within reach of 10-sack season

The Broncos haven’t had a pass rusher post double-digit sacks in a season since 2018. Jonathon Cooper has one game left to change that.

Denver Broncos outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper has recorded a sack in three straight games and he now leads the team with 8.5 sacks in 2023.

With 1.5 more sacks against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, Cooper would become the team’s first pass rusher to record 10 sacks since 2018.

“I feel like with my teammates and coaches believing in me and the type of player that I am — I feel like my goal for this season was eight or ten,” Cooper said. “Iā€™m trying to get to double digits, trying to get to that ten mark. Iā€™m going to keep rocking. Keep going. Iā€™m really happy for myself but Iā€™m more happy with these wins that weā€™re getting. Any way I can help the team win is what Iā€™m trying to do.ā€

The Broncos’ most recent pass rushers to finish a season with double-digit sacks were Elvis Dumervil (2007, 2009, 2012), Von Miller (2011-12; 2014-18), Shaun Phillips (2013)Ā DeMarcus Ware (2014) andĀ Bradley Chubb (2018). That’s impressive company that Cooper hopes to join.

Fellow pass rusher Nik Bonitto is three sacks away from reaching 10. Both have a shot at double digits, but Cooper’s chances are higher.

“Heā€™s playing well, and itā€™s really important to him,” coach Sean Payton said of Cooper’s quest for ten sacks.

Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell has been sacked 22 times this season in nine starts, an average ofĀ 2.44 sacks per contest. Cooper will aim to add to that total on Sunday.

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Chiefs DL George Karlaftis put together an exceptional performance vs. Bengals

#Chiefs DL George Karlaftis played with his hair on fire against the #Bengals in Week 17.

The Kansas City Chiefs defense has been among the NFL’s best this season, and with just one game remaining on their schedule, the team’s defense seems primed to make something special happen in the playoffs.

Second-year defensive end George Karlaftis has been among the unit’s leaders through 16 games, and put together arguably his best performance of the season against the Bengals in Week 17, tallying 1.5 sacks, six pressures, and a pass rush win rate of 26.7 percent, according to Pro Football Focus.

Numbers like these are no coincidence for Karlaftis, who has steadily developed into Kansas City’s leading sack leader heading into their final matchup of the season against the Los Angeles Chargers.

His presence on the Chiefs’ front four has more than warranted his selection in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft. With another exceptional showing in Week 18, he could cement himself as Kansas City’s preeminent sack-master ahead of the playoffs later this month.

Chiefs safety Justin Reid reflects on dominant defensive stand to close out matchup vs. Bengals

#Chiefs safety Justin Reid reflected on Kansas City’s dominant defensive stand that closed the door on the Cincinnati #Bengals in Week 17.

The team sealed its eighth consecutive AFC West division title only days following the Kansas City Chiefs’ disastrous performance against the Las Vegas Raiders. The victory over the Cincinnati Bengals featured the best the team can offer on defense heading into the playoffs.

Chiefs safety Justin Reid significantly contributed to Sunday’s win with his performance. He collected two critical sacks on Cincinnati’s last drive and finished with seven tackles, ranking second on the team in the win. Reid spoke about the final Bengals drive and the mindset of the defensive unit during his post-game comments to reporters.

“It was a big moment. All of it just came down to execution,” Reid explained. “We were executing really all game, and in the biggest moments, your biggest players ā€“ in every situation, your players have to make plays. (Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Steve) Spags dialed it up for me to get home, and we practiced it all during the week, everyone played their role to give me enough time to get home, and we were able to make things happen.”

Reid’s thrilling display on the Bengals’ final drive thwarted their comeback hopes and reinforced the unit’s ability to close games. The option of not relying on getting the ball back to Patrick Mahomes and the offense is a luxury heading into another postseason.

“That’s what we want to be; that’s what we want our identity to be,” said Reid. “A defense where when our number is called, we go out there no matter the situation, and we play defense.”

Reid is in his second season with the Chiefs and has quickly become a leader in the secondary. He is playing at a high level at a prime time as Kansas City seeks back-to-back Super Bowl titles.

Bryan Bresee owns the Saints rookie sacks record for a defensive tackle

Bryan Bresee owns the Saints rookie sacks record for a DT. No interior lineman has had more sacks in their rookie year for the Saints since tracking began in 1982:

Don’t look now, but Bryan Bresee is closing in on the New Orleans Saints’ rookie sacks record for defensive tackles. He may have it already. Bresee sacked Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Bake Mayfield on Sunday, putting his season total at 4.5 sacks — which would be the official record, pushing Sedrick Ellis (2008) and Sheldon Rankins (2016) down and into a tie for second-place.

But depending on where you look, Bresee may still be in second place. Officially, his 4.5 sacks are the most by a rookie defensive tackle in Saints franchise history. Unofficially, thanks to the research of analysts at Pro Football Reference and Stathead, he’s still trailing one player in the team record books: Dave Rowe.

The second round pick of the Saints’ inaugural 1967 draft class (out of Penn State), Rowe finished his rookie season with 5.5 sacks. The first player to wear No. 76 in team history was an early fan-favorite on some really bad Saints teams, winning Pro Bowl recognition in 1968, and he went on to play for four different teams over his 12-year career, winning a Super Bowl ring with the Oakland Raiders in 1976.

But Rowe’s total is unofficial. It hasn’t been verified by another outlet or the NFL itself (which didn’t begin tracking sacks until 1982), so Bresee technically already has it in the bag. Still, it would be nice to see him remove all doubt and sack Taylor Heinicke or Desmond Ridder a few times next week in the regular season finale.

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Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes reveals message to offensive line on sidelines vs. Raiders

#Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes reveals message to the offensive line on the sidelines vs. #Raiders

The Kansas City Chiefs had a Christmas to forget following their upset loss to the visiting Las Vegas Raiders. The game was headlined by mistakes and poor play on offense, with the unit still needing to execute at a high level with two games remaining in the regular season.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was pressured throughout the game, forcing him to be a scrambler and leading the team in rushing for the game. He was sacked four times by the Raiders defense and was caught on camera having an animated discussion with his offensive line.

Mahomes revealed his mindset speaking to his teammates on the sidelines and his optimism during the post-game press conference.

“You want to keep guys in the right spirit. I mean, obviously, we know that we weren’t executing at the level that we wanted to throughout the game. But I thought guys did a great job of fighting until the end.” said Mahomes. “We just gotta continue to get better and better. These self-inflicted mistakes. And it’s not just one person.

“I made a couple of them today, but it’s just like one here and there. But if we can be on the same page and execute at a high level, we can get back to that Chiefs offense you’re used to seeing, but we have to prove it. That’s gonna be it at the end of the day. But we got the guys to do it. We got to go out there and do it.”

The Chiefs will look to learn quickly from the loss and regroup before their New Year’s Eve battle with the Cincinnati Bengals. The AFC West is still up for grabs, making the game another must-win situation to avoid a very tense final week of the season.

Giants nearing NFL’s all-time mark for sacks allowed

Although the New York Giants probably won’t get there, they are nearing the NFL’s all-time record for sacks allowed in a single season.

The New York Giants had high expectations entering the 2023 season with hopes of building on the success in their first year under Brian Daboll.

Instead, this season went south in a hurry. Despite injuries across the roster, the most glaring issue has been a subpar offensive line that’s allowing a historic number of sacks.

Though 14 games, the Giants have given up a franchise-record 76 sacks. New York quarterbacks have been sacked at least seven times in six games this season. They are the third-most sacked team in NFL history, two sacks shy of the second-most.

With three games remaining, it’s hard to imagine the Giants give up an additional 28 sacks to tie the record set by the 1986 Philadelphia Eagles (104).

They do have two games left against the Eagles, who have an elite pass rush and may want to shed their franchise from that embarrassing record.

While the Giants have invested heavy draft capital in the offensive line between Evan Neal (first round) and John Michael Schmitz (second round) over the last two years, clearly they still have work to do.

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Zack Baun’s first career sack should lead to a specialty role

Zack Baun had his first career sack Sunday. Rushing the passer was his specialty coming out of college. Maybe he could be used in that role in 2023:

New Orleans Saints linebacker Zack Baun registered his first career sack Sunday against the Detroit Lions, beating Pro Bowl right tackle Penei Sewell off the edge for a clean takedown. Itā€™s a sign of how he should be used more going forward. Itā€™s kind of surprising he hadnā€™t registered a sack to this point in his career. Rushing the passer was his specialty in college, but in New Orleans heā€™s been an off-ball linebacker.

Baun registered his sack rushing against the right tackle. He only plays 23% of the defensive snaps, but he needs to be used as a pass rusher more frequently. It plays to his strengths and could revitalize his career in a pass rushing role, similar to Eagles defensive end Haason Reddick.

On a more short term note, Baun could help the Saints struggling pass rush. He would make the pass rush faster and more athletic. Using Baun as a pass rusher could help him and the Saints going forward.

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Chiefs center Creed Humphrey put together stellar performance vs. Raiders

Creed Humphrey didn’t allow a sack or pressure in the #Chiefs’ win over the Raiders in Week 12.

The Kansas City Chiefs have been able to rely on the interior of their offensive line all season while reigning MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes has struggled to find his footing consistently.

A key cog of the Chiefs’ offensive machine is center Creed Humphrey, who managed to help lift Mahomes to one of his best performances of the season in Week 12 against the Las Vegas Raiders.

According to Pro Football Focus, Humphrey didn’t allow a single sack or pressure in the rivalry matchup.

Showings like this are common for the third-year lineman, and while some may take his role in Kansas City’s offense for granted, his outstanding efforts every week are a key reason that the Chiefs have been able to maintain their position in the AFC playoff standings.

Expect to see Humphrey follow up his impressive showing in Las Vegas with another stellar performance in Kansas City’s Week 13 matchup against the Green Bay Packers.