The best all-time pass-rushing group from all 32 NFL teams

Unfortunately, J.J. Watt missed much of Chandler Jones’ finale in Arizona. The Cardinals’ 1980s collection of pass rushers’ run becomes the clear pick. Revealed not long ago as the player who most likely holds the true single-season sack record, Al “Bubba” Baker made his way from Detroit to St. Louis in 1983. Contract dissatisfaction led Baker to the Heartland via trade; he joined in-house sack ace Curtis Greer. The two defensive ends teamed with second-year D-tackle David Galloway. In 1983, Greer (16 sacks), Baker (13) and Galloway (12) thrived; linebacker E.J. Junior chipped in (7.5) as well. Greer ripped off 14 sacks in 1984, to go with Baker’s 10, before knee trouble slowed him.

Another of the standouts to emerge for a new generation (among those interested in pass rushers), John Zook operated as one of the 1970s’ steadiest sack artists. A 1969 fourth-round pick, the D-end totaled at least seven sacks in each of his first eight seasons — all during the 14-game era. Zook joined Atlanta’s 1968 first-round pick to form a dependable duo, albeit one obscured by the team’s struggles. Humphrey tallied at least 10 sacks in six of his first seven seasons. A five-time All-Pro, Humphrey used this stretch to secure Hall of Fame entry. DT Mike Tilleman supplemented this duo in the mid-’70s, though Zook was in St. Louis by the time Atlanta’s 1977 “Grits Blitz” season happened.

Although Elvis Dumervil’s Denver fax-machine fiasco created a short-term pairing with Terrell Suggs, the nod here goes to the havoc Peter Boulware, Michael McCrary and Co. caused at the turn of the century. The Ravens landed the first of their dynamic edge rushers in the 1997 first round, and Boulware’s arrival paired with McCrary’s free-agency addition. From 1997-2001, the two combined for five double-digit sack seasons — including Boulware’s then-Raven-record 15 in 2001. While each made the Pro Bowl in 1998 and ’99, they received help during the famed 2000 season from Browns holdover Rob Burnett. A well-rounded DE, Burnett led the Super Bowl champs with 10 sacks. 

Cornelius Bennett operated as one of the NFL’s best linebackers early in his career, moving from edge rusher into an off-ball role. By 1995, Bennett was working in the latter capacity. But the Pro Bowler was finishing up his Bills tenure when they signed Bryce Paup in free agency. The ex-Packer proceeded to dominate while working alongside the most productive pass rusher ever. Teaming with Smith, Paup totaled 17.5 sacks and earned Defensive Player of the Year acclaim. Taking on more double-teams, Smith totaled 10.5. Fifth-year D-end Phil Hansen added 10 for a 10-6 team that also featured ex-Cowboys DE mainstay Jim Jeffcoat. Buffalo lost Bennett to Atlanta in 1996. 

The Panthers needed to upset the Rams and Eagles to reach Super Bowl XXXVIII. They did so with a QB (Jake Delhomme) plucked for $2 million in free agency. Julius Peppers and Co. played a central role in John Fox’s team winning the NFC. The 2002 No. 2 overall pick teamed with steady bookend Mike Rucker, and Kris Jenkins’ peak occurred as Peppers’ career took off. A 2001 second-round DT, Jenkins earned first-team All-Pro acclaim in 2002 and ’03, combining for 12 sacks and 28 tackles for loss in that span. He of 22 sacks and 31 TFLs in those years, Rucker led Carolina’s Super Bowl team in sacks and earned a Pro Bowl nod. En route to a 159.5-sack career, Peppers was a ready-made pass rusher to put this unit on a high plane.

The 1985 Bears receive due credit, but this defensive nucleus stayed together and was good enough to win multiple Super Bowls. Oozing talent up front and at linebacker, Chicago terrorized QBs with its innovative 46 defense. Fueled by Hall of Famers Richard Dent, Dan Hampton and Steve McMichael’s double-digit sack seasons, the 1984 Bears — with 72 — still hold the single-season sack mark. Athletic linebackers Wilber Marshall and Otis Wilson provided key supplementary work for the blitz-heavy defense. Dent ripped off a six-sack playoffs to aid the Bears’ 1985 charge, while Hampton excelled at both end and tackle. Jim McMahon’s health notwithstanding, this was far from a one-hit wonder.

Two of the Bengals’ top five sackers played together for most of the 2010s; the other three contributed heavily to the team’s first Super Bowl berth. Officially, Carlos Dunlap is the Bengals’ sack king. Counting sacks unofficially recorded before the stat’s 1982 emergence, Eddie Edwards holds the crown. Edwards teamed with fellow top-10 D-end pick Ross Browner, along with linebacker Reggie Williams, to create a productive rush in the early 1980s. All three were double-digit sackers in the Bengals’ 1981 AFC Championship season, with Edwards and Browner also combining for 20 in 1980. Edwards and Williams stuck around for Super Bowl XXIII but did their best work to help Cincinnati’s first Super Bowl entrant.

The Browns ranked in the top seven defensively four times in Marty Schottenheimer’s five seasons. Their pass rush did heavy lifting to back the mostly Bernie Kosar-led teams. The Browns of the mid-’80s featured Pro Bowlers in Chip Banks and Clay Matthews, and the team acquired former Eagles Super Bowl starter Carl “Big Daddy” Hairston via trade in 1984. Defensive end Reggie Camp also supplied quality production during a pivotal Browns stretch. From 1984-86, this quartet played together and each notched a nine-plus-sack season. Camp set the pre-Myles Garrett Browns record with 14 sacks in 1984. An outside ‘backer, Matthews filled in as a wild card of sorts to help Cleveland book four straight playoff berths.

As the Cowboys revved up for their final Tom Landry-era Super Bowls, they formed a dominant defensive line around two top-two picks and a former third-rounder. Ed “Too Tall” Jones and Randy White joined Harvey Martin as the drivers of a three-headed pursuit that stayed together — save for Jones’ 1979 boxing sabbatical — until 1983. Martin led the NFL with a 20-sack 1977 season, sharing Super Bowl XII MVP acclaim with White, while Jones trekked to three early-1980s Pro Bowls. Playing inside after a brief LB experiment, White anchored Dallas’ defenses for a decade. This group helped keep the Super Bowl door open post-Roger Staubach.

Were it not for the edge-rushing duo Denver rolled out in the mid-2010s, the NFL may have already featured a Super Bowl threepeat. The Broncos battered Tom Brady in the 2015 AFC championship game and followed that up with a dominant Super Bowl outing. Miller and one his childhood idols, DeMarcus Ware, catalyzed these upsets and covered for a suddenly limited offense. Miller took over both games, while Ware worked as an overqualified sidekick, totaling 12 playoff QB hits. Supplementing the Hall of Famer and Super Bowl MVP, Derek Wolf and Malik Jackson earned paydays as reliable interior rushers, combining for 11 sacks in 2015 and adding key support against the Patriots and Panthers.

The NFL has not officially credited Al “Bubba” Baker with the single-season sack record, but the unofficial totals applied retroactively in 2021 shine a light on a dominant season. A 1978 second-round pick, Baker is credited with 23 sacks as a rookie. The standout DE added 16- and 17.5-sack slates in 1979 and ’80. Baker had help. All-Pro DT Doug English and versatile D-linemen William Gay and Dave Pureifory joined to form the Silver Rush. Each cog posted a 10-plus-sack season from 1978-83, with English and Gay keeping the pressure going — en route to a 1983 NFC Central title — after Baker’s trade to St. Louis.

Vince Lombardi’s Super Bowl defenses included six Hall of Famers. The two D-linemen among that group were part of all five 1960s Packers title teams. Willie Davis and Henry Jordan formed one of the best DE-DT duos in NFL annals, playing together for 11 seasons and combining for 10 first-team All-NFL honors. It should also be noted Hall of Fame LB Dave Robinson provided the pressure on Don Meredith that sealed the Packers a Super Bowl I berth. A year later, Davis sacked Daryle Lamonica thrice in Super Bowl II. Supporting-caster Lionel Aldridge, a 1963 draftee, has been retroactively credited with three double-digit sack seasons as a Davis bookend. 

Jadeveon Clowney has not lived up to the immense hype his South Carolina tape brought, but the 2014 No. 1 pick has enjoyed a good career. Clowney’s knee trouble prevented him from teaming with Watt during the latter’s historic apex, but the duo did link up in the late 2010s. Watt’s health became an issue, but the 2018 season brought Pro Bowl slates from both. In maybe his final elite season, Watt notched 16 sacks and led the NFL with seven forced fumbles. Playing outside and inside, Clowney posted his second nine-plus-sack season. Whitney Mercilus, Watt’s top sidekick during his DPOY spree, remaining in good form by this point made this one of the NFL’s best pass rushes at the time.

Peyton Manning’s Colts delivered the most consistency, but the franchise peak occurred under Johnny Unitas. Two Hall of Famers and an imposing D-tackle supported the all-time QB great. Gino Marchetti remains one of the most dominant edge D-ends in NFL history, accumulating seven first-team All-NFL nods. DT Art Donovan, perhaps known more for colorful anecdotes, also has a bust in Canton. The Colts supplemented the Hall of Famers with matchup nightmare Gene “Big Daddy” Lipscomb, who earned All-Pro recognition during each of Baltimore’s 1958 and ’59 championship seasons. Lipscomb’s five-year Baltimore stay doubles as the top Colts pass-rushing period.

The NFL was possibly a misjudged Myles Jack fumble-six from Blake Bortles starting in a Super Bowl. While the Jaguars ended up letting the Patriots off the hook in the AFC championship game, a quickly assembled pass rush led the way to a shocking playoff run. The team signed Calais Campbell a year after paying Malik Jackson to leave Denver. The pair teamed with consistent edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue and top-three draftee Dante Fowler. The 2017 Jags D-line sent three to the Pro Bowl and finished with four eight-plus-sack players. Campbell’s longevity will have him in consideration for the Hall of Fame; there would be no case without his dominant 2017.

From 1990-97, the Chiefs made the playoffs with five primary QBs — six if Rich Gannon’s critical ’97 cameo counts. Unable to find a long-term answer under center, the ’90s Chiefs depended on their defense. That essentially meant Pro Bowl seasons were required from Derrick Thomas and Neil Smith. Fortunately for Kansas City, those were regularly in the chamber. One of the most explosive rushers in NFL history, Thomas started his career with eight straight Pro Bowls. Smith benefited from the speed rusher’s presence but held his own, making five Pro Bowls as a Chief and leading the NFL in sacks in 1993. Playing eight years together, Thomas and Smith were the pillars of a successful Chiefs period.

The Raiders identified three ready-made disruptors in the early 1980s, grabbing Howie Long in the 1981 second round, Bill Pickel in the 1983 second and Greg Townsend in the 1983 fourth. This trio stayed together for eight years. For the first three seasons of its run, an aging but still ferocious Lyle Alzado joined the youngsters. On a 1983 team that acquired Hall of Famer Mike Haynes to pair with ballhawk Lester Hayes, this meant big trouble for air attacks. The D-line quartet combined for 37.5 sacks for the Super Bowl-winning Raiders. Long remained a force as a 3-4 end, while Townsend thrived as an edge specialist. Pickel ripped off three straight double-digit sack seasons from his nose tackle role, rounding out one of the NFL’s more underrated pass rushes.

The Chargers still managed to make their way to the 1981 AFC championship game, winning an iconic matchup (before losing another game with a name). But they did so after trading not only John Jefferson but Fred Dean as well, losing both due to contract squabbles. One of the great pure edge rushers in NFL history, Dean posted 14.5 sacks in 1978 and was an All-Pro in 1980. Gary “Big Hands” Johnson teamed with Dean as a DT and joined him as a 1980 All-Pro, posting a 17.5-sack season to help the Bolts rank sixth defensively. The Chargers also deployed All-Pro DT Louie Kelcher and received a 12-sack season from DE Leroy Jones in 1980. Dean soon helped the 49ers to two Super Bowl wins.

Officially, J.J. Watt is the NFL’s lone player with two 20-sack seasons. Deacon Jones unofficially got there thrice, running roughshod over tackles — admittedly in a friendlier era to do so, as Jones’ head-slap tactic best illustrates — to headline a legendary pass rush. The Rams’ Fearsome Foursome D-line, at its best, also featured fellow Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen, Jones bookend Lamar Lundy and ex-Giants bastion Rosey Grier. No NFL defender has bested Olsen’s 14 Pro Bowls, while Jones led the NFL in sacks five times in a six-year span. Lundy posted three eight-plus-sack seasons during Grier’s four years in L.A. (1963-66). Jones and Olsen kept going until the mid-1970s, but the Rams’ mid-’60s group — beginning an era of defenses with nicknames — is tough to beat.

Three straight Super Bowls and consecutive titles do well as a tiebreaker. Miami’s No Name Defense wins out over the Killer Bs — we really did better with defensive nicknames in these days — thanks to all-around performance. Miami ranked first defensively in 1972 and ’73, mowing down better competition in the latter year. Bill Stanfill played a lead role for the 12-2 1973 team, racking up 18.5 sacks. D-end complement Vern Den Herder added 10, with Manny Fernandez supplying help on the interior. After the 1972 team won three one-score playoff games, the ’73 squad bulldozed the Bengals, Raiders and Vikings, not yielding a Super Bowl score until the fourth quarter.

The Vikings’ first-round Alan Page choice in 1967 ignited one of the great defensive units ever, with the all-time D-tackle talent teaming with fellow future Hall of Famer Carl Eller. The sack mavens worked with ironman DE Jim Marshall and the group’s Ringo (DT Gary Larsen), playing together for eight years. This produced three Super Bowls, the first featuring all four linemen earning Pro Bowl nods. Marshall and Larsen earned two Pro Bowls apiece, while Page and Eller remain two of the best ever at their positions. The inside-outside duo’s presence upon Fran Tarkenton’s 1972 Minnesota return moved the Vikes back to the Super Bowl tier.

The Andre Tippett-fronted pass rushes of the 1980s featured the best pure rusher in Patriots history, but Bill Belichick’s first wave brought the best conclusions. Tom Brady took a while to grow into a true franchise QB, leaving a dependable defense in charge. Richard Seymour is the Hall of Famer from these front sevens, but OLBs Willie McGinest and Mike Vrabel provided steady support. McGinest is the NFL’s playoff sack king, with 16. Vrabel’s pressure caused Kurt Warner’s Super Bowl XXXVI pick-six (via Ty Law). This is a whole>sum of parts situation, as no gaudy single-season numbers are present here. But the Pats’ back-to-back No. 1 defensive rankings (2003-04) are flashy enough.

Drew Brees is certainly the greatest player in Saints history. As for their premier position group, the Dome Patrol linebacking corps earns the vote. While Vaughan Johnson and Hall of Famer Sam Mills played on the inside, Dome Patrol’s OLBs — Hall of Famer Rickey Jackson and 1991 Defensive Player of the Year Pat Swilling — led the way to the Saints’ resurgence. Between them, Jackson and Swilling combined for six Pro Bowls as teammates from 1986-92, delivering steady pressure. By the early ’90s, D-end Wayne Martin was chipping in; he added 15.5 sacks in 1992, when Jackson and Swilling — in the team’s final Dome Patrol-era playoff berth — combined for 24.

Depth-wise, the Giants’ NASCAR package from the Tom Coughlin years impressed. But the Giants’ 1980s Crunch Bunch efforts created new pass-rushing possibilities. Lawrence Taylor’s unrivaled skillset did the most to rejuvenate the Giants in the early ’80s, and the OLB demon’s 1986 MVP award — given how future votes have gone for defenders — illustrates his value. LT had some help, with D-end Leonard Marshall supplying key support — particularly for Bill Belichick’s mid-’80s defenses. Aging rush specialist George Martin also totaled 10 sacks in 1985 while Taylor LB wingman Carl Banks brought second-level support and landed on the All-Decade team. The unit’s 1986 masterpiece remains underrated.

Along with Lawrence Taylor’s emergence, Joe Klecko and Mark Gastineau’s 1981 seasons moved the ball past the goal line for sack stat keeping. Klecko is credited with 20.5 that year, with he and Gastineau (20) elevating the Jets to the playoffs. Gastineau, of course, notched a then-record 22 sacks in 1984 — a mark future Jet Brett Favre helped topple — while Klecko was an interior force en route to a belated Canton honor. Marty Lyons and Abdul Salaam offered important supporting roles among this long-tenured quartet. While the Steel Curtain is difficult to beat, this New York Sack Exchange moniker could win some rounds on a scorecard for the NFL’s best D-line nickname.

The 2022 Eagles deserve mention after coming within two sacks of the single-season record, but Reggie White is the greatest D-lineman in NFL history. He had two important castmates for a few years as well. Clyde Simmons thrived as a White sidekick, tallying 15.5 sacks in 1989 and an NFL-high 19 in 1992. But the Eagle D-line shone brightest during Jerome Brown’s career. In 1991, Brown, a dynamic D-tackle, and Simmons joined White as first-team All-Pros for a loaded defense — which also featured hybrid OLB rusher Seth Joyner — on a team that lost Randall Cunningham in Week 1. Brown’s 1992 death from a car accident wounded the Eagles, and White was gone as a free agent a year later. 

After toying with a T.J. Watt-themed upset pick, overstating the Steel Curtain’s impact on Pittsburgh’s premier period is too difficult. In addition to Joe Greene — the engine for perhaps the greatest defensive machine in NFL history — the Steelers threw Hall of Fame-caliber D-end L.C. Greenwood and sidekick Dwight White at QBs. This is not to discount DT Ernie Holmes, who combined for 20 sacks during the Steelers’ first two Super Bowl-winning years (1974-75). Greenwood and White each booked multiple Pro Bowl nods, while Greene terrorized from his three-technique post. This unit helped unleash the Jack Ham-Jack Lambert LB combo, creating a relentless defense that sustained dominance.

Kyler Murray’s decision to pass on an MLB path changed the 49ers’ fortunes. With Nick Bosa available at No. 2 overall in 2019 (after the Cardinals chose Murray), the 49ers formed a menacing pass rush that ignited a struggling team. Bosa’s dominance came alongside ex-first-rounders DeForest Buckner, Arik Armstead and Dee Ford. The 2019 49ers, in Bosa and Buckner’s lone season together, probably possessed the best version of this group. But Armstead teamed with Bosa to drive the team to three more NFC title games, with a slew of productive Kris Kocurek disciples stopping through alongside the cornerstones as the team has forged a consistent contender not centering around a quarterback.

Forming what this space believes is the 21st century’s best team, the Seahawks became the first team to build a Super Bowl champion around a rookie QB contract. With Russell Wilson tied to third-round money, Seattle added Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril during the 2013 offseason. The hired guns delivered, pairing with the Legion of Boom and Bobby Wagner to form a three-level defensive monster. Designated pass rusher Bruce Irvin contributed alongside this duo for three seasons, with Wagner supplying sporadic sack aid amid an All-Pro streak. Bennett’s ability to kick inside on passing downs added another dimension for Seattle, which deployed he and Avril together for five seasons.

On the whole, the Warren Sapp-Simeon Rice partnership featured better players. Had they overlapped for more than two seasons, that would be the easy choice. But the recent Bucs paired a former All-Pro (Jason Pierre-Paul) with the NFL’s 2019 sack leader (Shaq Barrett). Both OLBs drove the effort in 2020, when Tom Brady struggled for much of the season. The Bucs, who also threw Ndamukong Suh and speedy LB Devin White (nine sacks) at QBs, relied on their edge rushers to hound Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes en route to a Super Bowl title. Barrett totaled four sacks and eight QB hits in the Bucs’ final two games, leading a pressure avalanche that overwhelmed the Chiefs.

Like Rosey Grier, Curley Culp was part of two elite pass rushes. After the D-tackle won Super Bowl IV with the Hall of Famer-laden Chiefs, a trade at the eventful 1974 deadline brought him to a downtrodden Oiler team. A year later, the Oilers drafted OLB Robert Brazile. The duo teamed with stalwart D-end Elvin Bethea. With Brazile reaching Canton in 2018, the Oilers deployed a three-Hall of Famer pass rush; along with Earl Campbell, the unit played the lead role in the team’s late-1970s resurgence. During the trio’s five-year run together, it combined to draw 11 Pro Bowl invites. Unfortunately, the Steelers represented a hurdle too high to surmount.

Even had Washington’s 2020s first-rounder quartet maximized its potential, Washington’s 1980s rush would have been difficult to overlook. The Charles Mann-Dexter Manley tandem was among the era’s best, and George Allen-era pickup Dave Butz lasted long enough to land on the ’80s All-Decade team. Each starters on the first three Joe Gibbs Super Bowl teams, Mann, Manley and Butz helped a Washington team that needed to turn to a few QBs post-Joe Theismann. Each earned All-Pro honors, with Manley posting an 18.5-sack season in 1986 and Mann collecting 14.5 in ’85. They capped off a strong era by combining for 9.5 sacks during the 1987 playoffs, en route to a Super Bowl XXII demolition.