Fantasy Index

Factoid

Sack happier than ever before

We know that passing production is up -- quarterbacks are throwing for more yards and touchdowns than ever before. Defenses are responding by getting after the quarterback (or having more success getting after the quarterback) than ever before. Not only are passing numbers up, but so are sacks.

NFL teams tend to average 36-37 sacks per season, and that's been fairly consistent over the past decade. Since 2003, defenses have averaged 34, 37, 36, 34, 32, 34, 33, 35, 37 and 36 sacks.

This year, at the halfway point, NFL defenses are on pace to average 42 sacks, up 16 percent from previous seasons. There are 10 teams on pace for more than 50 sacks, and 22 teams on pace for at least 40. A year ago, only three teams had 50 sacks, and only 8 teams had more than 40. Some teams will fall off the pace they're currently setting (Kansas City probably won't get 64 sacks), but the NFL average still seem set to finish north of 40 for the first time in 20 years (it reached 40 back in 1992).

The table below shows the projected total sacks for each team based on what they achieved in their first eight games.

Team 2013 sacks (pace)
Kansas City 64
Cleveland Browns 56
Buffalo Bills 52
New England Patriots 52
St. Louis Rams 52
Seattle Seahawks 52
New York Jets 48
Cincinnati Bengals 50
Dallas Cowboys 40
Philadelphia Eagles 34
Baltimore Ravens 56
New Orleans Saints 52
Miami Dolphins 50
Green Bay Packers 48
Oakland Raiders 46
Arizona Cardinals 46
Carolina Panthers 46
Denver Broncos 44
Indianapolis Colts 44
Tennessee Titans 44
Washington 42
San Diego Chargers 40
Houston Texans 40
Atlanta Falcons 36
Minnesota Vikings 34
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34
San Francisco 49ers 34
Chicago Bears 28
Detroit Lions 26
Pittsburgh Steelers 26
Jacksonville Jaguars 22
New York Giants 20

--Andy Richardson

Fantasy Index