Trey Hendrickson Did What? Bengals Edge Rusher Has Amazing End to Incredible Season

Jay Morrison | Jan 5, 2025

Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson (91) celebrates a stop in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 18 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. The Bengals won 19-17 to finish the regular season at 9-8. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI – Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson’s 3.5-sack performance Saturday night in a 19-17 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers wasn’t a career high, but it was historic.

The 3.5 sacks raised Hendrickson’s season total to 17.5, which almost certainly will result in him leading the league when the regular season comes to an end Sunday night.

It would take a six-sack performance from the Houston Texans’ Danielle Hunter – or more from a player further back – for someone to pass Hendrickson.

No Bengals player has ever led the league sacks since it became an official stat in 1982.

No one had ever finished second until Hendrickson did it last year, when he also had 17.5 sacks.

Only Hall of Famer Reggie White has more consecutive seasons with at least 17.5 sacks, doing it three times from 1986-88.

And J.J. Watt and Mark Gastineau are the only other players who have more total seasons of 17.5 sacks than Hendrickson’s two, with each joining White as three-timers.

“You put him up there with all of the best pass rushers,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. “He’s going to run away as the sack leader tomorrow when the games are over with 17.5. He’s just done it every single year since he’s been here. All he does is produce, and I’ve said this many times I’m not shocked by this.”

Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase was more succinct.

“Just Trey doing Trey things,” he said.

It was Hendrickson's second game of the season with at least 3.5 sacks. He had four in the Week 9 win against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Two games in a season with at least 3.5 sacks ties the NFL record held by seven other players -- Hall of Famers White, Chris Doleman and Michael Strahan, along with J.J. Watt, Chandler Jones, Whitney Mercilus and Karl Mecklenburg.

As impressive as any 3.5-sack performance would be, Hendrickson’s impact Saturday night was as much about timing as it was volume.

He sacked Pittsburgh quarterback Russell Wilson on a second and 9 play with 4:09 left in the game and the Bengals clinging to a 19-14 lead.

That led to the Steelers settling for a 54-yard field goal by Chris Boswell to get within two.

Then – on the final drive of the game when the Steelers were at their only 45 and needing only a few more yards to get in position for another field goal to win it – Hendrickson sacked Wilson with 20 seconds to go.

That forced Pittsburgh to use its final timeout.

Two incompletions followed, and the Bengals ran off the field victorious with a winning record secured and playoff hopes still alive.

“Being in the opportunity to make those plays is what it’s about,” Hendrickson said. “It’s good to turn around the talk of what our 2024 defense looks like.

“I’m really proud of the way guys handled adversity being 4-8,” he added. “The coaching staff and Lou Anarumo standing up and leading us to where we needed to go to give us the best chance to go to the playoffs. To have a winning record in the National Football League is something to be proud of.”

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