Officially, the NFL has recorded sack data for defensive players since 1982. Unofficially, of course, defenders have been putting quarterbacks on the ground for a lot longer than that. With the help of John Turney and Nick Webster of the Pro Football Research Association, Pro Football Reference today added more than two decades of sack data, going back to 1960. Some highlights they have found:
- Bruce Smith and Reggie White still rank one-two in career sacks, but former Rams star Deacon Jones moves into third place. Jones led the league in sacks five times in six seasons in the late 1960s; the other year, he was third.