Tag: sacks

Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie reflects on his first two-sack game

#Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie reflected on first two-sack game in his football career in comments to the media after Kansas City’s loss to the #Eagles.

The Monday night rain fell hard and often at Arrowhead Stadium as the Kansas City Chiefs came up short against the Philadelphia Eagles. The offense wasn’t effective in the second half, wasting a solid performance from the defense that held Jalen Hurts and company for most of the game.

Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie was a standout in the game, securing two sacks for the first time in his career, including college. The second-year upstart shared his thoughts on the accomplishment with reporters during the post-game press conference.

“It’s great. I think my last sack was last year against the Broncos. So, (I’m) excited I can get two tonight. But huge credit to coach Spags (Steve Spagnuolo). I mean, his game plan. And his game calling was huge tonight and showed a lot of different looks. I was messing up their offense.” said McDuffie, “So I thought he did a great job and allowed us to get a lot of plays on the ball and sacks at that.”

McDuffie also forced his fifth fumble of the season to go along with his sacks. He reiterated to reporters how unique the night was and his desire to improve on the career night.

“No, sir. Never. I think my first (two) sack game in the NFL.” said McDuffie, “So definitely a first, but hopefully, I can get some more.”

McDuffie has thrived in corner blitzing situations and forcing turnovers in what is becoming a pro bowl caliber season. The Chiefs will hope for a similar performance in their next game this Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders.

The New Orleans Saints have the NFL’s slowest pass rush in 2023

Your eyes aren’t fooling you. The New Orleans Saints have the NFL’s slowest pass rush, taking more time to get to the quarterback than any other team:

If you’ve been watching the New Orleans Saints defense this year and found yourself muttering or shouting some variant of “That’s too much time!” when the opposing quarterback drops back to pass, you aren’t crazy. Research from Doug Analytics found that the Saints have posted the NFL’s slowed pass rush unit through the first 10 weeks of the season.

And that checks out when you look at other stats. The Saints are tied for the fifth-fewest sacks (18) going into their Week 11 bye. Their Pro Football Reference pressure rate is 19.4%, ninth-worst around the league. That’s a slight improvement over last year’s 17.5% pressure rate, which was fourth-lowest, but the big difference is that the Saints aren’t finishing pressures with sacks. They had 48 sacks a year ago. They would need to average 4.3 sacks per game through these last seven weeks to match that total.

The problem is a lack of speed along the defensive front. Cameron Jordan is still being asked to be their leading rusher off the edge when his body just doesn’t have that extra gear anymore. He’s never been known for his speed off the snap, so Jordan’s game should age well as a run defender and power rusher, but the Saints must compensate for that by getting faster at other spots. Carl Granderson has some speed element to his game and Bryan Bresee can move quickly along the interior, but those are just two of the eight players in the rotation most weeks.

Whiffing on so many early-round draft picks hurts. The Saints swung and missed on first-round defensive ends like Marcus Davenport and Payton Turner and their rookie second-round pick Isaiah Foskey has had few snaps to show what he can do. They badly need one of those guys to step up and add some athleticism to the mix. Jason Pierre-Paul could improve the group but he isn’t helping them get younger.

Interestingly, the next-slowest pass rush in this graph comes from the Washington Commanders. It’s a comprehensive look at teams from Weeks 1 through 10, so that includes edge rushers Montez Sweat and Chase Young, both of whom were dealt at the NFL trade deadline. There was an uproar from Saints fans about not acquiring one of them, but it sure looks like they wouldn’t have cured the specific problem ailing the Saints defense.

A lacking athleticism up front is the issue. The Saints are slow to get after the quarterback, slow to put hands on him, and slow to keep up with him when he rolls out of the pocket looking to throw downfield. We saw them get gashed consistently by Joshua Dobbs and Tyson Bagent in recent weeks after C.J. Stroud did it a few weeks earlier. Any quarterback who can use their legs can challenge them.

Dennis Allen is a believer in the idea that the secondary and pass rush must work in tandem. He’s built this defense so that the quarterback is forced to hold onto the ball long enough for the rush to get home. But even a secondary full of All-Pro corners will get beaten if they’re all asked to cover for four, five, or six seconds. The Saints can’t afford to stop investing resources in the pass rush unit. Hopefully one of those draft picks hits soon.

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Cameron Jordan and Jason Pierre-Paul have the most sacks of any active duo

Cameron Jordan and new Saints pickup Jason Pierre-Paul have the most combined sacks of any active duo in the NFL:

As many of us know by now, New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan set the official franchise record for most sacks, and he currently sits at 117.5. This number puts Jordan at number two on the active sack leaders list, behind only Von Miller of the Buffalo Bills.

Newly acquired pass rusher Jason Pierre-Paul is also near the top of that list, with 94.5 sacks in his career (No. 6 among active players). And few teams boast the combined resumes of those two sack artists. Jordan and Pierre-Paul have more career sacks than any other duo around the league. Here are the five duos with 150 or more combined sacks, per Pro Football Reference and Stathead:

  1. Cameron Jordan (117.5) and Jason Pierre-Paul (94.5): 212 sacks
  2. Von Miller (123.5) and Leonard Floyd (54.5): 178 sacks
  3. T.J. Watt (88) and Cameron Heyward (78.5): 166.5 sacks
  4. Khalil Mack (93.5) and Joey Bosa (67): 160.5 sacks
  5. Calais Campbell (102) and Bud Dupree (49.5): 151.5 sacks

Hopefully Pierre-Paul will continue to add to that sacks total this season for New Orleans, as he had three last season with the Baltimore Ravens and a fourth in the playoffs on limited snaps. The Saints need all the help they can get while tied for the fifth-fewest sacks (18) in the league going into their Week 11 bye.

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WATCH: Every Chiefs sack of the 2023 season, through Week 9

Check out this supercut of every #Chiefs sack of the 2023 season through Week 9.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ resurgent pass rush has been a sight to behold to this point in the 2023 season, and with eight games left to play, it seems the team will be able to lean on its defensive line to keep opponents behind the sticks.

Veteran linemen Chris Jones, George Karlaftis, and Mike Danna have led the way for Kansas City in their pursuit of opposing quarterbacks, accumulating 17 combined sacks in just nine contests.

The Chiefs released a supercut video of every sack tallied by their defenders this season, which is sure to bring joy to every fan who watches:

The return of defensive-minded football in Kansas City is a welcome sight. Even while Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense have struggled, the team’s defense has played spectacularly fun football with consistency and helped lift Kansas City to a 7-2 start to the season.

Expect the pass rush to play a huge factor in the Chiefs’ Week 11 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football.

Chiefs have second-most sacks in NFL through Week 9

The #Chiefs’ defense has accumulated the second-most sacks in the NFL through Week 9 of the 2023 season.

The Kansas City Chiefs defense has proven that it is not to be trifled with this season, and as their 2023 campaign wears on, it is becoming evident that they are a particularly special group.

According to the Chiefs’ Senior Team Reporter Matt McMullen, no less than 13 of Kansas City’s defenders have registered half a sack or more through Week 9, and the team’s 31 total sacks are good for the second-best mark in the NFL.

For a team whose identity has mostly revolved around the offense during Andy Reid’s tenure, the resurgence of the defense is a welcome sign for fans who pined for the return of defensive-minded football in Kansas City.

There remains plenty of work to do if the Chiefs intend to defend their Super Bowl title later in the season, but the pieces certainly seem to be in place for a championship-caliber defense to help buoy Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City’s offense in the 2023 playoffs.

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Texans QB C.J. Stroud excelling at this stat shows promise for the future

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud has flashed signs of growth in the first six weeks, but one area demonstrates a maturity to his game.

The most-talked about stat for C.J. Stroud through the first six weeks of his NFL career was his lack of interceptions. The Houston Texans’ No. 2 overall pick stretched his pass attempts to 191 before sustaining his first career interception against the New Orleans Saints in a 20-13 victory.

However, as much as interceptions say about decision-making, there is another statistic that also incorporates decision-making along with durability: sacks.

Through six games, Stroud has taken 13 sacks, which are the eighth-fewest among quarterbacks who have started every game since Week 1. Project Stroud’s sacks out to a full season, and the former Ohio State product is on track to take 35.

Contrast that with David Carr, who took a league-high 76 in his 2002 rookie campaign.

Rookies aren’t the only signal callers who have taken a high number of sacks for Houston. In 2018, the Texans’ 16-game starter amassed a league-leading 62 sacks.

While sacks reflect an element of an offensive line’s protection of the quarterback, they can also present a field general’s internal clock and situational awareness. The ball must come out quick; there isn’t time always to survey every progression. Sometimes the correct move is to throw the ball away rather than extend a play, which could conclude with a sack-fumble or interception in tight coverage.

No NFL team wants their franchise quarterback to take undue licks. While sacks are readily available as a figure, they mask a larger figure such as knockdowns. Whatever a quarterback’s sack total is, their knockdown number would have to be at least double on conservative estimates.

Those 62 sacks from 2018 look hideous now.

Stroud has also managed his low sack total while working with a makeshift offensive line. As Stroud and the rest of the offensive line continue to develop cohesion, there should be a better sense of how to avoid incoming pressure.

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Raiders DE Maxx Crosby leading NFL EDGE in several key statistics

Maxx Crosby leads NFL EDGE players in several key statistics

We know Maxx Crosby is easily the best defender on the Raiders roster. That goes without saying. Every now and then, it helps to see how he stacks up against other players at his position across the NFL. And in those instances you are reminded that he isn’t just the best defender on this team, but arguably the best all-around edge rusher in the league.

How do I come to this conclusion? Well, just look at the stats.

Among edge rushers with at least three sacks this season, here are some of Crosby’s stats and where he ranks.

38 pressures (1st)
30 hurries (1st)
22 solo tackles (1st)
35 combined tackles (1st)
17 solo run stops (1st)
29 combined run stops (1st)
8 tackles for loss (3rd)
5.5 sacks (7th)

His sack total is only 2.5 behind Danielle Hunter and TJ Watt for the league lead (eight). Which means basically he could potentially jump up from 7th to 1st in one game. He’s had one multiple sack game this season and has only once this season been held without a sack.

Two weeks ago he was named Offensive Player of the week when he had four tackles for loss and a sack against the Packers.

Wisconsin legend T.J. Watt still has more sacks than four NFL teams

Former Wisconsin Badger T.J. Watt is off to a phenomenal start to the 2023 NFL season, believe it or not. The five-time Pro Bowler and

Former Wisconsin Badger T.J. Watt is off to a phenomenal start to the 2023 NFL season, believe it or not.

The five-time Pro Bowler and three-time First-Team All-Pro outside linebacker has already notched 15 tackles, eight sacks, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, one touchdown, four passes defended and 15 quarterback hits through five games. He is in line for yet another All-Pro season.

Related: How every former Wisconsin Badger performed in NFL Week 5

How crazy of a start is Watt off to? Through five weeks he still has more sacks than four NFL teams.

  1. Watt: 8.0
  2. Chicago Bears: 7.0
  3. Houston Texans: 7.0
  4. Atlanta Falcons: 5.0
  5. New York Giants: 5.0

His eight sacks also lead the NFL. His sack of Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson clinched a Steelers win on Sunday despite the star outside linebacker dislocating his finger and tearing multiple ligaments earlier in the game.

Watt doesn’t appear set to miss any time with the injury, though may need surgery on it this offseason.

Geno Smith has the third-lowest sack probability over expected

Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith has the third-lowest sack probability over expected in the league.

Sacks are credited to defensive players. However, as Seahawks fans had to learn the hard way during the Russell Wilson years, quarterbacks play a huge role in those numbers, as well. In fact, you can make a case that QBs are far more responsible for sacks than either pass rushers or protectors.

Separating legitimate pressures from ones that quarterbacks run themselves into is difficult business, though. One analyst has come up with a stat that does a good job making that distinction. According to Travis May, Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith has the third-lowest sack probability over expected in the league. Only Mac Jones and Patrick Mahomes have done better.

While his fantasy numbers are nothing to write home about, this is one of a few areas where Geno Smith is playing even better than he was last season during his Comeback Player of the Year campaign. In addition to a significant drop in his interception rate, Smith has proven to be much more agile in and out of the pocket in 2023.

That’s helped mitigate the losses of Charles Cross and Abe Lucas and kept Seattle’s offense performing at a high level despite not having all the pieces integrated just yet (JSN’s breakout game will come eventually).

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Chris Jones grades as PFF’s fourth-best interior defensive lineman

Chris Jones’ impressive four-game run has earned him PFF’s fourth-highest grade among interior defensive linemen.

All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones has been a boon for the Kansas City Chiefs defense since returning from his holdout and is earning some seriously impressive grades from Pro Football Focus for his efforts.

Through five weeks of the 2023 season, Jones grades out as PFF’s fourth-best interior defensive lineman, trailing Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald by less than one point.

This feat is all the more impressive considering that Jones missed training camp and the preseason, essentially entering his regular season debut cold after more than six months away from the Chiefs. Jones’ holdout secured him performance incentives that raised the maximum value of the final year of his contract, and the prolific lineman seems intent on maximizing every bit of additional income he can through the end of the season.

In four games, Jones has tallied 4.5 sacks and is well on his way to justifying a high-dollar extension in the 2024 offseason.