NFL Sack Leaders and the Super Bowl

LOOKING BACK
By John Turney

The NFL began team sacks, as an official statistic in 1963 and in 1982 they recognized individual sacks. Since 1982 there have been three NFL sack leaders (now awarded the Deacon Jones trophy) to reach the Super Bowl.

Those three are:
1985 Richard Dent 17 sacks
1986 Lawrence Taylor 20.5 sacks
1999 Kevin Carter 17 sacks

All of them were on the winning side of those Super Bowls.

However, in the Super Bowl era there were thre two unofficial sack champions that reached the Super Bowl.

Those three are:
1979 Jack Youngblood 18 sacks
1977 Harvey Martin  20 sacks
1973 Bill Stanfill  18½ sacks

Two of those three on the winning side of the Super Bowls they were in that season.

And if you throw in the 1968 AFL leader (not overall leader) Gerry Philbin, who had 14½ sacks in 1968 it's six-for-seven, though it is an asterisk since Deacon Jones had more sacks in 1968, but in a different league.

This season Vic Beasley of the Falcons won the Deacon Jones Trophy with 15.5 sacks. Will this year make it six-for-seven or seven-for-eight, whoever you count it?