Colts defense on the verge of breaking franchise record
Not much has gone right for the 4-10-1 Indianapolis Colts this season; however, the defense is closing in on a 17-year franchise record.
If the Colts can manage four more sacks over their final two games, they will break the team record for sacks in a single season, which was set in 2005.
That year, Robert Mathis (11.5 sacks) and Dwight Freeney (11 sacks) led a Colts pass rush that finished with the fifth-most sacks in the NFL. The defensive line, comprised of Freeney, Raheem Brock, Montae Reagor, Larry Tripplett, and Josh Thomas, combined for 30 of the team’s 46 sacks and 195 sack yards.
This season, Indianapolis’ 43 sacks are the sixth-most in the NFL, and making the feat even more impressive is the fact that the Colts do not have a player with double-digit sacks. Yannick Ngakoue leads the team with 9.5 sacks, followed by DeForest Buckner (8), Kwity Paye (6), Dayo Odeyingbo (5), and a hand full of others.
“We’re just trying to hunt (the quarterback) as much as we can,” Paye told reporters after Monday’s 20-3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. “The defense puts a lot of stress on our room. We’ve got to make plays, we’ve got to get sacks, we’ve got to get strip sacks, fumble recoveries, all of that.”
The Colts have registered multiple sacks in 12 of 15 games this season, including nine games with three or more sacks. The team’s best performance came in a 39-26 overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings in which they sacked Kirk Cousins seven times.
More must-reads: