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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Team Effort Sets Sack Mark

Stat Shots: For just the fourth time in team history, the Buccaneers had six different players record a full sack in the same game…Plus, Lavonte David and Brent Grimes among NFL leaders

The most remarkable statistic to come from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 15-10 win over the New York Jets on Sunday was the six sacks recorded by the home team's defense. Six sacks in one game is not in itself a remarkable number – it's been done 16 times this season, and in fact Atlanta's Adrian Clayborn did it all by himself on Sunday – but it represented a dramatic improvement for Tampa Bay's defense. The Buccaneers came into the weekend with just eight sacks through its first eight games, an NFL low.

Moreover, what makes that six-sack effort unique in franchise history is that it involved six different players, each getting exactly one sack. That has never happened before in a Buccaneer game. It was just the fourth time in 42 seasons of Buccaneer football that six different players had at least one full sack in the same outing.

Six Different Buccaneers with At Least 1.0 Sacks, Same Game

**Date** **Opponent** **Team Sacks** **Individual Sacks**
9/9/79 Baltimore 10 Lee Roy Selmon 2.0, David Lewis 2.0, Wally Chambers 1.5, Randy Crowder 1.0, Curtis Jordan 1.0, Bill Kollar 1.0, Mike Washington 1.0
12/7/98 Green Bay 8 Brad Culpepper 2.0, Regan Upshaw 2.0, Ronde Barber 1.0, Jeff Gooch 1.0, Tyoka Jackson 1.0, Warren Sapp 1.0
12/8/13 Buffalo 7 Will Gholston 1.5, Mark Barron 1.0, Lavonte David 1.0, Derek Landri 1.0, Gerald McCoy 1.0, Darrelle Revis 1.0, (Da'Quan Bowers 0.5)
11/12/17 N.Y. Jets 6 Robert Ayers 1.0, Kendell Beckwith 1.0, Will Clarke 1.0, Gerald McCoy 1.0, Clinton McDonald 1.0, Darryl Tapp 1.0

As a team the Buccaneers have recorded six or more sacks on defense in a single game 29 times, including Sunday's game. Unsurprisingly, that has been a harbinger for success, as the Bucs have won 20 of those 29 games, including the last four in a row.

Three of the six players who took Jets quarterback Josh McCown down on Sunday recorded their first sacks in a Buccaneer uniform. Rookie linebacker Kendell Beckwith got the first QB takedown of his NFL career while defensive ends Will Clarke and Darryl Tapp – both players who joined the roster after the regular-season began – added to their career totals with their initial Buccaneer sacks. Tapp now has 29.0 career sacks while Clarke has 5.5.

Gerald McCoy's sack gave him 45.5 in his career, which ranks fourth in franchise history behind Lee Roy Selmon (78.5), Warren Sapp (77.0) and Simeon Rice (69.5). He has 36.5 sacks since the beginning of the 2013 season, the most among all NFL defensive tackles in that span.

Most Sacks by a Defensive Tackle, NFL, 2013-17

**Player** **Team(s)** **Sacks**
Gerald McCoy TB 36.5
Geno Atkins CIN 34.0
Aaron Donald LAR 31.0
Jurrell Casey TEN 28.5
Ndamukong Suh* DET/MIA 26.0

( Does not include Miami's Monday Night game against Carolina.)*

Lavonte David did not get in on the sack party on Sunday but he did recover a fumble after fellow linebacker Kwon Alexander dislodged the football from Jets running back Bilal Powell. That was David's fourth fumble recovery of the 2017 campaign, which already ties the Buccaneers' single-season record in that category. David is just the second linebacker in team history to recover four fumbles in the same season.

Most Fumble Recoveries, Single Season, Buccaneers

**Player** **Pos.** **Season** **FR**
Lavonte David LB 2017 4
Jovan Haye DT 2007 4
Ivory Sully S 1986 4
Cecil Johnson LB 1979 4
Bill Kollar DE 1979 4

David also has four forced fumbles this season, which is three off the single-season team record, shared by Broderick Thomas (1991) and Stylez G. White (2007). Remarkably, David leads the NFL in 2017 in both forced fumbles and opponent fumble recoveries, despite missing two of the Buccaneers' nine games due to injury.

Most Forced Fumbles, NFL, 2017

**Player** **Team** **GP** **FF**
Lavonte David Tampa Bay 7 4
Aaron Donald L.A. Rams 8 3
Chris Jones Kansas City 9 3
Demarcus Lawrence Dallas 9 3
Yannick Ngakoue Jacksonville 9 3
Brian Orakpo Tennessee 9 3

Most Opponent Fumble Recoveries, NFL, 2017

**Player** **Team** **GP** **FR**
Lavonte David Tampa Bay 7 4
Jamal Adams N.Y. Jets 10 2
Eli Apple N.Y. Giants 9 2
Artie Burns Pittsburgh 9 2
Jadeveon Clowney Houston 9 2
James Cowser Oakland 9 2
Reshad Jones Miami 8 2
Demarcus Lawrence Dallas 9 2
Barkevious Mingo Indianapolis 10 2
Derrick Morgan Tennessee 9 2
Michael Pierce Baltimore 9 2
Sheldon Richardson Seattle 8 2
Quinten Rollins Green Bay 6 2
Desmond Trufant Atlanta 9 2
Tre'Davious White Buffalo 9 2
Tahir Whitehead Detroit 9 2

As is made obvious by those charts, David is not only the lone player in the NFL with at least four forced fumbles and at least four opponent fumble recoveries this season, but he's the only player to record at least three of each. Only Dallas defensive end Demarcus Lawrence even joins David with at least two of each.

David has recovered 10 opponent fumble recoveries since he entered the NFL. Only Houston's J.J. Watt has more in that span.

Most Fumble Recoveries, NFL, 2012-17

**Player** **Team(s)** **FR**
J.J. Watt HOU 11
Lavonte David TB 10
D'Qwell Jackson CLE/IND 9
Julius Peppers CHI/GB/CAR 9
Mike Adams DEN/IND/CAR 8
Fletcher Cox PHI 8
Rob Ninkovich NE 8
Craig Robertson CLE/NO 8

David is also closing in on the Buccaneers' career record in this category, which is currently held by Hall of Fame candidate Ronde Barber.

Most Fumble Recoveries, Buccaneers, Career

**Player** **Pos.** **Years** **FR**
Ronde Barber CB/S 1997-2012 12
John Cannon DE 1982-90 11
Lavonte David LB 2012-17 10
Cecil Johnson LB 1977-85 10
Lee Roy Selmon DE 1976-84 10

The Buccaneers forced two turnovers in Sunday's win over the Jets, the first courtesy of cornerback Brent Grimes, who intercepted a deep pass down the middle of the field in the second quarter. It was the second interception of the season for Grimes, giving him the team lead in that category. Grimes has picked off 19 passes in the past five seasons, one off the NFL lead in that time span.

Most Interceptions, NFL, 2013-17

**Player** **Team(s)** **INTs**
Richard Sherman SEA 20
Brent Grimes MIA/TB 19
Reggie Nelson CIN/OAK 19
Glover Quin DET 19
Tashaun Gipson CLE/JAX 17
Marcus Peters KC 17

Before his three seasons in Miami and two with the Buccaneers, Grimes played six years for the Atlanta Falcons, picking off a total of 13 passes. His 32 career interceptions are tied for the fifth most among all active NFL players.

Most Career Interceptions, Active NFL Players

**Player** **Team(s)** **INTs**
DeAngelo Hall ATL/OAK/WAS 43
Terence Newman DAL/CIN/MIN 41
Reggie Nelson JAX/CIN/OAK 35
Aqib Talib TB/NE/DEN 34
Brent Grimes ATL/MIA/TB 32
Richard Sherman SEA 32

Since the season is just past the midway point, Grimes is roughly on pace for four interceptions; if he can hit that number, he would have at least four picks in five straight seasons. Grimes is already the only player in the NFL with an active streak of four straight seasons with at least four interceptions, and he has the most total campaigns in that category since 2009.

Most Seasons with 4+ Interceptions Since 2009, NFL

**4+-INT**
**Player** **Team(s)** **Seasons**
Brent Grimes ATL/MIA/TB 6
Richard Sherman SEA 5
Vontae Davis MIA/IND 4
DeAngelo Hall WAS 4
Reggie Nelson CIN/OAK 4
Aqib Talib TB/NE/DEN 4
Charles Woodson GB/OAK 4
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