Stat of the Jay: Bengals' Lack of Pass Rush Behind Trey Hendrickson Approaching NFL Record

Jay Morrison | Nov 21, 2024

Nov 17, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) is brought down by Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson (91) during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI – Trey Hendrickson leads the NFL with 11.5 sacks and is on pace for 18 sacks, which would be his career high.

The rest of the Cincinnati Bengals are on pace for an all-time low.

The gap between Hendrickson’s 11.5 sacks as the team leader and the runner up – currently Sam Hubbard with just two – already is one of the largest in franchise history.

But the NFL record is not out of the question.

First, let’s look at the 2024 season.

No other team leader is anywhere close to Hendrickson’s 9.5 spread.

Only two other teams have a gap of more than 2.5 sacks between their leader and runner up:

Raiders 4.5 (Maxx Crosby 6.5, two tied with 2)

Lions 4 (Aidan Hutchinson 7.5, Alim McNeill 3.5)

When looking at Bengals history, Hendrickson’s current lead is the second most since 1982, when sacks became an official stat.

The Bengals view Coy Bacon’s 22 sacks in 1976 as official as they did an extensive stat and film review to come up with the number.

If we include that, Hendrickson’s current lead is third and he owns three of the top four due to the combination of how good he’s been and the Bengals’ inability to find complementary pass rushers.

The NFL record for the biggest gap between a team’s sack leader and its runner up is 17, which was set by the New York Jets in 1984. Mark Gastineau had 22 and Lance Mehl 5.

If Hubbard doesn’t record another sack and remains second on the team, he will tie an NFL record – which he already shares – for the fewest sacks by a team runner-up.

In 2020, Carl Lawson led the Bengals with 5.5, while Hubbard had 2.

There are six other instances, including another by a Cincinnati player, where a team runner-up only had two sacks:

Greg Bracelin, Colts, 1982

Rulon Jones, Broncos, 1982

Chinedum Ndukwe, Bengals, 2007

Jason Babin, Chiefs, 2008

Derrick Harvey, Jaguars, 2009

Jacob Tuioti-Mariner, Falcons, 2021

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