The record for most sacks in an NFL game is seven, accomplished by Derrick Thomas in 1990.
Falcons defensive end Adrian Clayborn did not reach that mark Sunday in a 27-7 Atlanta win over the Cowboys, but he did record six sacks, matching three other players for second all-time.
As NFL.com’s Chris Wesseling pointed out, Clayborn has had six sacks in a season only once in his seven-year career (as a rookie in 2011). He had only two in 2017 entering Sunday.
Adrian Clayborn has 6 sacks today, more than he’s had in all but one of his 7 NFL *seasons*
— Chris Wesseling (@ChrisWesseling) November 13, 2017
In celebration of Clayborn’s historic performance, we decided to rank his six sacks based on how they looked and how important they were to the Falcons’ win.
6. Second quarter, 12:20
(0:23 in the below video)
This one was mainly a sack of convenience, with Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott running right toward Clayborn, who had dropped back in coverage. Still, a sack is a sack.
5. First quarter, 10:11
.@AJaClay gets the sack pic.twitter.com/CBrmX5wO1Y
— social cancer (@SlopingGiraffe) November 12, 2017
Barely even touched.
4. Fourth quarter, 13:09
🚨 ADRIAN CLAYBORN CAN'T BE STOPPED 🚨 pic.twitter.com/J6oprWw2Eg
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) November 12, 2017
Look at Clayborn just tear through the tackle and chase down Prescott on third-and-long. Incredible.
3. Third quarter, 4:39
(1:07 in this video)
This sack looks just like the previous one, only with an even more ferocious takedown.
2. Second quarter, 0:15
Adrian Clayborn has 3 sacks in a single game for the first time in his career! 👀 pic.twitter.com/3YjbgAO58B
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) November 12, 2017
This is not the most beautiful sack you’ll ever see, but you can’t argue with a forced fumble.
1. Fourth quarter, 3:32
Adrian Clayborn, you are a MONSTER.
A franchise-record SIX sacks in one game! pic.twitter.com/YlBIrNmCYh
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) November 13, 2017
Clayborn’s sixth sack of the day was his best because it lifted him to a historic level, because it forced a fumble that the Falcons promptly recovered and because it sealed an Atlanta win that Clayborn was right at the center of.
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About Alex Putterman
Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.