Will Anderson Jr. still leads the NFL in sacks after Week 7, but his lead is down to half a sack. The Houston Texans defensive end has 7.5, the same number he had after Week 5, and Chase Young of the New Orleans Saints is right behind him with 7.0 after a sack and a half in the 16–10 loss to Pittsburgh.
Denver linebacker Alex Singleton made the biggest move on the tackle board. He had 19 tackles in the Broncos’ 30–16 win at Arizona, the most by any player in a game this season, and leads the league with 87, 16 ahead of San Francisco’s Fred Warner (71). He also got his first sack of the season in that game.
Sack leaders after Week 7
| Rank | Player | Team | Pos | G | Sacks | Week 7 | Week 8 (Cairo time) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Will Anderson Jr. | HOU | DE | 7 | 7.5 | 0.0 | Bye |
| 2 | Chase Young | NO | DE | 7 | 7.0 | 1.5 | Bye |
| 3 | Dallas Turner | MIN | LB | 6 | 6.0 | 0.5 | at Detroit, Sun 20:00 |
| 3 | Greg Rousseau | BUF | LB | 6 | 6.0 | Bye | vs. Baltimore, Sun 20:00 |
| 5 | Carl Granderson | NO | DE | 6 | 5.5 | 1.5 | Bye |
| 5 | David Bailey | NYJ | LB | 7 | 5.5 | 0.5 | vs. Las Vegas, Sun 20:00 |
| 5 | Elijah Ponder | NE | LB | 7 | 5.5 | 0.0 | at Miami, Sun 23:25 |
| 5 | T.J. Watt | PIT | LB | 7 | 5.5 | 1.0 | vs. Cleveland, Sun 20:00 |
| 9 | Aidan Hutchinson | DET | DE | 6 | 5.0 | 1.0 | vs. Minnesota, Sun 20:00 |
| 9 | DJ Wonnum | DET | LB | 6 | 5.0 | 0.0 | vs. Minnesota, Sun 20:00 |
Anderson had at least a half-sack in each of Houston’s first five games, including three against Tennessee in Week 5. He has none in the two games since: one tackle in the 34–31 win over Jacksonville at Wembley and four tackles in the 27–21 overtime loss to the New York Giants on Sunday.
Young has gone the other way, with 1.5 sacks in each of the last two weeks. His teammate Carl Granderson also had 1.5 against the Steelers and is tied for fifth with 5.5, so the Saints have two of the top eight. Dallas Turner of Minnesota added a half-sack in the 16–10 win over Indianapolis to reach 6.0, level with Buffalo’s Greg Rousseau, who was on a bye.
Anderson and Young, week by week
| Week | Anderson sacks | Anderson total | Young sacks | Young total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| 3 | 2.5 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 3.5 |
| 4 | 0.5 | 4.5 | 0.0 | 3.5 |
| 5 | 3.0 | 7.5 | 0.5 | 4.0 |
| 6 | 0.0 | 7.5 | 1.5 | 5.5 |
| 7 | 0.0 | 7.5 | 1.5 | 7.0 |
Houston and New Orleans are both on a bye in Week 8, so neither can add to his total this week. That leaves the door open for Rousseau and Turner, who each need 1.5 sacks on Sunday to tie Anderson and 2.0 to pass him. T.J. Watt, David Bailey and Elijah Ponder are two sacks back at 5.5.
The biggest sack game of Week 7 came from Tampa Bay’s Yaya Diaby, who had three in the 43–13 win at Carolina. He had none in his first six games. Three sacks is the most by any player in one game this season, matching Anderson (Week 5), David Bailey (Week 5) and Kyler Gordon (Week 6).
Tackle leaders after Week 7
| Rank | Player | Team | Pos | G | Tackles | Per game | Week 7 | After Week 6 | Week 8 (Cairo time) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Singleton | DEN | LB | 7 | 87 | 12.4 | 19 | 68 | vs. Kansas City, Sun 23:25 |
| 2 | Fred Warner | SF | LB | 7 | 71 | 10.1 | 13 | 58 | Bye |
| 3 | Anthony Hill Jr. | TEN | LB | 7 | 68 | 9.7 | 12 | 56 | at Cincinnati, Sun 20:00 |
| 3 | Ernest Jones IV | SEA | LB | 7 | 68 | 9.7 | 9 | 59 | vs. Chicago, Tue 03:15 |
| 3 | Nakobe Dean | LV | LB | 7 | 68 | 9.7 | 12 | 56 | at NY Jets, Sun 20:00 |
| 6 | Carson Schwesinger | CLE | LB | 7 | 64 | 9.1 | 8 | 56 | at Pittsburgh, Sun 20:00 |
| 7 | Josiah Trotter | TB | LB | 6 | 62 | 10.3 | 10 | 52 | vs. Atlanta, Sun 20:00 |
| 8 | Evan Williams | GB | S | 7 | 61 | 8.7 | 9 | 52 | vs. Carolina, Fri 02:15 |
| 8 | Jacob Rodriguez | MIA | LB | 6 | 61 | 10.2 | 4 | 57 | vs. New England, Sun 23:25 |
| 8 | Payton Wilson | PIT | LB | 7 | 61 | 8.7 | 6 | 55 | vs. Cleveland, Sun 20:00 |
Singleton led by nine tackles after Week 6 and has nearly doubled that gap. Warner moved from third to second with 13 tackles in the 29–20 loss at Atlanta. Ernest Jones IV of Seattle, Nakobe Dean of Las Vegas and Anthony Hill Jr. of Tennessee are tied for third at 68. Singleton is also first per game, at 12.4; the next best in the top 10 is Tampa Bay’s Josiah Trotter at 10.3.
Most tackles in a game this season
| Player | Team | Week | Game | Tackles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Singleton | DEN | 7 | at Arizona | 19 |
| Jacob Rodriguez | MIA | 4 | at Minnesota | 18 |
| Fred Warner | SF | 3 | vs. Arizona | 17 |
| Anthony Hill Jr. | TEN | 1 | vs. NY Jets | 16 |
| Alex Singleton | DEN | 1 | at Kansas City | 16 |
| Minkah Fitzpatrick | NYJ | 4 | at Chicago | 16 |
Singleton has two of the six biggest tackle games of the season. He had 16 at Kansas City in Week 1, and the Chiefs are his next opponent, this time in Denver on Sunday at 23:25 Cairo time. Warner and the 49ers are on a bye in Week 8, so the closest players who do play this week are the three at 68, who are 19 behind.
Who has led after each week
| After week | Sack leader | Tackle leader |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 players tied (2.0) | Anthony Hill Jr. and Alex Singleton (16) |
| 2 | Greg Rousseau (4.0) | Anthony Hill Jr. (26) |
| 3 | Greg Rousseau (6.0) | Anthony Hill Jr. (34) |
| 4 | Greg Rousseau (6.0) | Alex Singleton (47) |
| 5 | Will Anderson Jr. (7.5) | Jacob Rodriguez (57) |
| 6 | Will Anderson Jr. (7.5) | Alex Singleton (68) |
| 7 | Will Anderson Jr. (7.5) | Alex Singleton (87) |
Anderson has led the sack race after each of the last three weeks, and Rousseau led after Weeks 2, 3 and 4. Singleton shared the tackle lead after Week 1 and has led alone after Weeks 4, 6 and 7.
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