With three sacks during the Browns’ win over the Raiders on Sunday, Myles Garrett is rapidly approaching the NFL’s single-season sack record. Garrett is now up to 18 sacks on the season—already a career-high—and 13 sacks over just his last four games.
Garrett has already broken records as the youngest player to reach 100 career sacks and the most sacks by a player under the age of 30, but now he’s going after the prestigious single-season sack record.
Garrett has six games remaining this season to try and record at least 5.5 sacks to break both the NFL’s official and unofficial sack records. The Browns will face the 49ers, Titans, Bears, Bills, Steelers and Bengals over this span. Of those teams, the Titans will offer a prime chance for Garrett to add to his sack tally as rookie quarterback Cam Ward has taken 45 sacks this season, the most of any player.
Even if Garrett falls short of the single-season sack record, he is likely to reach 20 sacks for the first time in his career and become the 19th player in league history to achieve this feat.
As Garrett closes in on this mark, here’s a look at every recorded 20-sack season in NFL history.
Every 20-Sack Season
Player
Team
No. of Sacks
Year
Al Baker*
Lions
23
1978
Michael Strahan
Giants
22.5
2001
T.J. Watt
Steelers
22.5
2021
Jared Allen
Vikings
22
2011
Mark Gastineau
Jets
22
1984
Justin Houston
Chiefs
22
2014
Deacon Jones*
Rams
22
1964
Deacon Jones*
Rams
22
1968
Coy Bacon
Bengals
21.5
1976
Deacon Jones*
Rams
21.5
1967
Chris Doleman
Vikings
21
1989
Reggie White
Eagles
21
1987
Aaron Donald
Rams
20.5
2018
Jim Katcavage*
Giants
20.5
1963
Joe Klecko*
Jets
20.5
1981
Lawrence Taylor
Giants
20.5
1986
J.J. Watt
Texans
20.5
2012
J.J. Watt
Texans
20.5
2014
Mark Gastineau*
Jets
20
1981
Harvey Martin*
Cowboys
20
1977
Derrick Thomas
Chiefs
20
1990
DeMarcus Ware
Cowboys
20
2008
Michael Strahan has held the official single-season sack for nearly a quarter century after recording 22.5 sacks in 2001. A number of pass rushers have come close to breaking his record in the years since, including Steelers star T.J. Watt, who tied the record four years ago.
Unofficially, former Lions great Al Baker reached 23 sacks during his rookie season in 1978. He is one of six players to record 20 or more sacks in a season before they became an official statistic.
Deacon Jones, Mark Gastineau and J.J. Watt are the only players to reach 20 sacks in multiple seasons of their careers, with Jones hitting the mark a remarkable three times in the 1960s.
Garrett does have the advantage of a 17th game to try and break the single-season sack record. Players like Deacon Jones and Coy Bacon impressively reached 20 sacks in 14-game seasons, while Baker and Strahan set their records during 16-game seasons. Garrett still has a good shot at breaking the record in 16 games—and possibly 14 if his current four-game pace continues—but if he takes all 17 games to do so, it still won’t diminish his incredible accomplishments.
