David "Deacon" Jones was one of the greatest sack artists in the history of the NFL. The Hall of Fame defensive end terrorized opposing quarterbacks for 14 seasons, including seven straight Pro Bowl campaigns with the Los Angeles Rams from 1964 to 1970.
Jones, nicknamed the "Secretary of Defense," coined the term "sack," a statistic that didn't become official in the NFL until 1982. However, several reputable football researchers, including the statistical website Pro-Football-Reference.com, have gone back and compiled sack totals from before the 1982 season, using official game books, play-by-play logs and other sources.
Pro Football Reference has recorded virtually every sack from at least the start of the Super Bowl era (since 1966). Check out the teams and players with the most sacks in a single NFL game during that span below:
Teams
12 - New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 30, 2007
12 - Dallas Cowboys at Houston Oilers on Sept. 29, 1985
12 - Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions on Dec. 16, 1984
12 - St. Louis Cardinals at Baltimore Colts on Oct. 26, 1980
12 - Dallas Cowboys at Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 20, 1966
11 - Seattle Seahawks at New York Giants on Oct. 2, 2023
11 - Baltimore Ravens at Tennessee Titans on Oct. 14, 2018
11 - San Diego Chargers at New York Jets on Dec. 23, 2012
11 - Indianapolis Colts vs. Cleveland Browns on Sept. 6, 1992
11 - Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 15, 1991
11 - Chicago Bears at Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 4, 1987
11 - Dallas Cowboys at New York Jets on Oct. 4, 1987
11 - Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Raiders on Dec. 8, 1986
11 - Los Angeles Raiders vs. Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 30, 1986
11 - Detroit Lions at Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 16, 1986
11 - San Diego Chargers vs. Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 16, 1986
11 - Cleveland Browns at Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 18, 1984
11 - Chicago Bears vs. Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 28, 1984
11 - Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cleveland Browns on Sept. 30, 1984
11 - St. Louis Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 18, 1983
11 - Dallas Cowboys at Detroit Lions on Oct. 6, 1975
11 - St. Louis Cardinals vs. Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 24, 1968
11 - Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos on Nov. 5, 1967
11 - Oakland Raiders at Buffalo Bills on Oct. 15, 1967
Players
7 - Derrick Thomas (Kansas City Chiefs) vs. Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 11, 1990
6 - Khalil Mack (Los Angeles Chargers) vs. Las Vegas Raiders on Oct. 1, 2023
6 - Adrian Clayborn (Atlanta Falcons) vs. Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 12, 2017
6 - Osi Umenyiora (New York Giants) vs. Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 30, 2007
6 - Derrick Thomas (Kansas City Chiefs) vs. Oakland Raiders on Sept. 6, 1998
6 - Fred Dean (San Francisco 49ers) vs. New Orleans Saints on Nov. 13, 1983
5.5 - Aldon Smith (San Francisco 49ers) vs. Chicago Bears on Nov. 19, 2012
5.5 - William Gay (Detroit Lions) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 4, 1983
5 - Chandler Jones (Arizona Cardinals) at Tennessee Titans on Sept. 12, 2021
5 - Haason Reddick (Arizona Cardinals) at New York Giants on Dec. 13, 2020
5 - Khalil Mack (Oakland Raiders) at Denver Broncos on Dec. 13, 2015
5 - Antwan Odom (Cincinnati Bengals) at Green Bay Packers on Sept. 20, 2009
5 - Vonnie Holliday (Green Bay Packers) vs. Buffalo Bills on Dec. 22, 2002
5 - Chuck Smith (Atlanta Falcons) at New Orleans Saints on Oct. 12, 1997
5 - Gary Jeter (Los Angeles Rams) at Los Angeles Raiders on Sept. 18, 1988
5 - Leslie O'Neal (San Diego Chargers) vs. Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 16, 1986
5 - Jim Jeffcoat (Dallas Cowboys) at Washington on Nov. 10, 1985
5 - Randy Holloway (Minnesota Vikings) vs. Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 16, 1984
5 - Howie Long (Los Angeles Raiders) at Washington on Oct. 2, 1983
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