Every Player to Reach 20 Sacks in a Season As Myles Garrett Approaches Record

Myles Garrett is approaching the single-season sack record. Who else has come close?

Will Myles Garrett break the NFL’s single-season sack record? | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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

*Sacks did not become an official statistic until 1982. All sack tallies before the 1982 season are considered unofficial.

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.

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