PERSPECTIVE
By Nick Webster
In Cincinnati, as the Bengals were dismantling the Philadelphia Eagles Carlos Dunlap did something that has possibly never been done by a defensive lineman. The 6’6” Dunlap defensed 4 passes. To put that in context, J.J. who has literally been nicknamed J.J. “Swat” has never batted down more than three passes in a single game.
Passes defensed (PD) are not an “official” statistic, and weren’t consistently collected until fairly recently in NFL history. But Dunlap’s game is the greatest in that recent short history. Going back a little further, when PD’s weren’t kept by the league but could be calculated from play-by-plays, there still aren’t defensive linemen recorded with 4 in a single game.
By Nick Webster
 |
| Carlos Dunlap. Credit: Wikipedia |
Passes defensed (PD) are not an “official” statistic, and weren’t consistently collected until fairly recently in NFL history. But Dunlap’s game is the greatest in that recent short history. Going back a little further, when PD’s weren’t kept by the league but could be calculated from play-by-plays, there still aren’t defensive linemen recorded with 4 in a single game.
How good is 14 PDs? Well, it puts Dunlap on a pace to have the most ever in a single season by a D lineman. Again, early history is very sparse here. We’ll never likely know how many passes the 6’8” Doug Atkins batted in his career, based on my film study it was many.
Below a list of the known single season pass defensed leaders for D-linemen. Unfortunately for Dunlap and fans, there’s not much to watch the remainder of the season in Cincinnati—maybe Dunlap is worth tuning in for.
Notes on the below list:
- - Marchetti number is from coaches and unverified from any primary source, the remainder are verified by play-by-plays
- - In some cases team number deviates from play-by-play figure from same season
- - - Edge rusher non-D Linemen excluded i.e.: Ted Hendricks, Rickey Jackson, Greg Lloyd, while primary edge rushers schemes often called for these players to drop into coverage
1984
|
Dal
|
16
|
16
|
1.00
|
16
|
|
2012
|
Tex
|
16
|
16
|
1.00
|
16
|
|
1968
|
Den
|
15
|
14
|
1.07
|
17.1
|
|
2016
|
Cin
|
14
|
12
|
1.17
|
18.7
|
|
1988
|
Too Tall Jones
|
Dal
|
14
|
16
|
0.88
|
14
|
1989
|
Cle
|
14
|
16
|
0.88
|
14
|
|
1967
|
KC
|
13
|
14
|
0.93
|
14.9
|
|
1967
|
Ram
|
13
|
14
|
0.93
|
14.9
|
|
1990
|
Chi
|
13
|
16
|
0.81
|
13
|
|
1991
|
Phi
|
13
|
16
|
0.81
|
13
|
|
1967
|
Ram
|
12
|
14
|
0.86
|
13.7
|
|
1983
|
Too Tall Jones
|
Dal
|
12
|
16
|
0.75
|
12
|
1966
|
Ram
|
11
|
14
|
0.79
|
12.6
|
|
1980
|
Too Tall Jones
|
Dal
|
11
|
16
|
0.69
|
11
|
2002
|
Simeon Rice
|
TB
|
11
|
16
|
0.69
|
11
|
2004
|
Mia
|
11
|
16
|
0.69
|
11
|
|
2006
|
Jason Taylor
|
Mia
|
11
|
16
|
0.69
|
11
|
2007
|
Jared Allen
|
KC
|
11
|
16
|
0.69
|
11
|
2011
|
Calais Campbell
|
Ari
|
11
|
16
|
0.69
|
11
|
2011
|
Greg Hardy
|
Car
|
11
|
16
|
0.69
|
11
|
2014
|
Julius Peppers
|
GB
|
11
|
16
|
0.69
|
11
|
1981
|
Too Tall Jones
|
Dal
|
10
|
16
|
0.63
|
10
|
1989
|
Lee Williams
|
SD
|
10
|
16
|
0.63
|
10
|
1996
|
Tony Brackens
|
Jax
|
10
|
16
|
0.63
|
10
|
2002
|
Willie McGinest
|
NE
|
10
|
16
|
0.63
|
10
|
2003
|
Richard Seymour
|
NE
|
10
|
16
|
0.63
|
10
|
2003
|
Simeon Rice
|
TB
|
10
|
16
|
0.63
|
10
|
2005
|
Jason Taylor
|
Mia
|
10
|
16
|
0.63
|
10
|
2006
|
Jared Allen
|
KC
|
10
|
16
|
0.63
|
10
|
2014
|
J.J. Watt
|
Tex
|
10
|
16
|
0.63
|
10
|
1957
|
Gino Marchetti
|
Bal
|
17
|
12
|
1.42
|
22.7
|
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