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Deacon Jones led NFL in sacks a record five times
Posted by Michael David Smith on July 13, 2021, 1:42 PM EDT
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Officially, the NFL says no player has ever led the league in quarterback sacks more than once. But we now know that Hall of Fame defensive end Deacon Jones led the NFL in sacks five times.
Thanks to pre-1982 sack totals being published by Pro Football Reference, we now know who had the most sacks in the NFL (and AFL) in every season since 1960.
Jones, incredibly, led the NFL in sacks in 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968 and 1969. (He finished third in the NFL in sacks in 1966.) No player has ever had that kind of sustained run as the NFL’s best pass rusher.
Twelve players have led the league in sacks twice: Ed Husmann, Jim Katcavage, Al Baker, Larry Eisenhauer, Jack Youngblood, Mark Gastineau, Reggie White, Kevin Greene, Michael Strahan, DeMarcus Ware, Jared Allen and J.J. Watt. But only Jones has done it more than twice.
