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Factoid

Playoff teams and sacks

Top teams had strong pass rushes last year

When picking a fantasy defense, one approach is to go with a team you're confident will be in the playoffs. Those teams had the best pass rushes a year ago. Nearly all of the NFL's 12 playoff teams ranked very favorably in terms of sacks.

The final sack numbers from 2015 show that only one of the top-10 pass rushes missed the postseason, and that was a Detroit team that finished very strong after a 1-7 start. The other nine made the playoffs, and so did 14th-ranked Washington.

Only two playoff teams finished below-average in sacks: Arizona and Seattle. The Cardinals, perhaps, made up for lower pass rush numbers by forcing mistakes. Only the Panthers (39) had more turnovers than Arizona (33). Seattle allowed fewer points than any other team.

Team sack totals from 2015 are below, with playoff teams in bold.

TEAM SACKS, 2015
Team Sack
Denver Broncos 52
New England Patriots 49
Pittsburgh Steelers 48
Kansas City 47
Houston Texans 45
Carolina Panthers 44
Green Bay Packers 43
Minnesota Vikings 43
Cincinnati Bengals 42
Detroit Lions 42
St. Louis Rams 41
New York Jets 39
Tennessee Titans 39
Washington 38
Oakland Raiders 38
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38
Seattle Seahawks 37
Philadelphia Eagles 37
Baltimore Ravens 37
Arizona Cardinals 36
Jacksonville Jaguars 36
Indianapolis Colts 35
Chicago Bears 35
San Diego Chargers 32
Miami Dolphins 31
New Orleans Saints 31
Dallas Cowboys 31
Cleveland Browns 29
San Francisco 49ers 28
New York Giants 23
Buffalo Bills 21
Atlanta Falcons 19

--Andy Richardson

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