What is the NFL sack record Myles Garrett is about to smash?

As we roll past Week 13 of the 2025 NFL season, Cleveland Browns’ star edge rusher Myles Garrett has rocketed to 19 sacks – putting him firmly on course to smash the all-time single-season sack record.

With five games remaining, Garrett isn’t just chasing history; he’s looming as possibly the greatest pass-rusher the league has witnessed in a single campaign.

So what is the current record and who holds it?

What is the NFL sack record?

The benchmark sits at 22.5 sacks, a mark first set in 2001 by Michael Strahan of the New York Giants and later equalled by T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2021

Strahan’s record-setting 2001 season remains iconic. On the final Sunday of a 7-9 season for the Giants, he dropped legendary quarterback Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers for his record-breaking sack – a moment that sent the NFL record books into a new era.

But the closing act was controversial. Critics and previous record-holder Mark Gastineau publicly questioned whether Favre “gave himself up”, arguing the sack lacked legitimacy. Guestineau, who had logged 22.0 sacks for the New York Jets in 1984, still bristles at Strahan’s claim to the crown.

Two decades later, T.J. Watt matched Strahan’s mark – doing so in fewer games and under modern, more pass-heavy conditions. In 2021, Watt notched 22.5 sacks across 15 games, including a four-sack performance on Monday Night Football vs the Browns.

Now it’s Garrett’s turn under the spotlight. His 19 sacks through 13 games signal an extraordinary surge. At his current pace, he is projected to finish the regular season with 27 sacks, which would not just break the existing record– it would obliterate it.

That projection has ignited a broader conversation: in the 17-game era, is Garrett about to deliver the single greatest pass-rushing season ever?

What makes this run even more remarkable is its consistency. Garrett has posted sacks in six straight games, showcasing a voracious motor and relentless pressure. Such sustained output puts him in rarefied company. Only a handful of players in NFL history have any claim to dominating a season like this.

But statistics only tell part of the story. Breaking the record will be more than a personal milestone – it could reframe how we view elite pass rushers in an era of evolving offenses and extended schedules.

Should he succeed, Garrett will stand alone atop the sack leaderboard: not just a record-breaker, but as the defining edge rusher of his generation.

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