Colts defense on the verge of breaking record

Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Colts defense on the verge of breaking franchise record

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 12/29/22

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.

The #Colts rank 6th in the #NFL in total sacks with 43 through 15 games.

A look at the sack totals by year during the Ballard-era:

2022: 6th with 43
2021: T-26th with 33
2020: T-12th with 40
2019: T-15th with 41
2018: T-21st with 38
2017: 31st with 25 pic.twitter.com/t3T8aF9KZg
— Noah Compton (@nerlens_) December 27, 2022

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.

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