Michael Strahan's single-season sack record nearly fell in 2015. Chiefs outside linebacker Justin Houston came on strong with a four-sack performance in the final weak of the season, ultimately falling just half a sack short of Strahan's record of 22.5, set back in 2001.
If Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap has anything to say about it, Strahan's name will be erased from the record books this year.
"Along with the team goals, you've got to have your personal goals that will help you obtain the team goal," Dunlap said, per ESPN.com. "My personal goals is to get that sack title at the end of the season, one, and then two, to get Strahan's record."
Dunlap set a career high with 13.5 sacks last season on his way to making his first Pro Bowl. He had previously had seasons of 9.5, 4.5, 6.0, 7.5, and 8.0 sacks during his first five years in the NFL.
If that doesn't exactly sound like the profile of a future single-season sack record holder, you should know that Strahan's career high prior to breaking the mark previously held by Mark Gastineau was 15.0 sacks. He'd recorded 1.0, 4.5, 7.5, 14.0, 15.0, 5.5, and 9.5 during his first seven years in the NFL. Strahan had a little bit more of a track record, with two double-digit sack seasons under his belt, but his average of one sack every 1.92 games was actually slightly lower than Dunlap's current average of a sack every 1.75 games. Even taking out Strahan's rookie year (where he recorded one sack in nine games) only brings his average down to a sack every 1.80 games. So Dunlap has a similar sack pace.
Of course, you need to have an excellent season in order to get all the way up to 23 sacks, which Dunlap would need to break the record -- only 10 players (Strahan, Houston, Gastineau, Jared Allen, Chris Doleman, Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor, J.J. Watt, Derrick Thomas, and DeMarcus Ware) have ever gotten to 20. You also need to stay healthy. Only White (12) and Thomas (15) got there while playing fewer than all 16 games.
As Dunlap also knows, most guys that get high sack totals like that are often the single dominant pass-rusher on their team.
"It's hard to get [20 or more]," Dunlap said. "Most of the guys who get those 20 sacks, they're like the only one [on their team] at plus-10. When you've got three guys who can get 10 sacks and a nose tackle who can get five, it's spreading the wealth. So that's good for our team."
Dunlap is presumably referring to himself, Michael Johnson, and Geno Atkins as players who can get 10 sacks (they've each done so at least once in their careers) and Domata Peko as a guy that can get five (he reached that total for the first time in 2015). If they all hit those figures and Dunlap gets to his goal of 23, it would be pretty safe to say that the Bengals would lead the league in sacks. That's at least 48 between just four players, and the Broncos led the league with 52 last season.
It's a tall order, but it's always good to set your goals high.
