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Moving Backwards: NFL Quarterbacks Sacked Most Often Since 1970
It’s hard for a QB to be successful in the NFL if they can’t avoid sacks
When an NFL team drives on offense, there are few momentum killers as crushing as a sack. Watching the leader of the offense go down, often hard and well behind the line of scrimmage, can really sink momentum. Some signal callers are blessed with stalwart offensive lines and/or an intrinsic ability to escape, while others aren’t quite so lucky. Based on sack percentage (the percentage of time a QB is sacked based on their drop backs to throw the ball), which quarterbacks, with at least 1,500 pass attempts, have been sacked most frequently since 1970 when such stats started being tracked?
5th, Randall Cunningham-10.1%: In his 16-year NFL career, Cunningham was one of the most entertaining quarterbacks in the league. He was a dual threat, able to beat the competition with his arm or his legs. He combined for 29,070 passing yards, 207 passing touchdowns and 4,928 rushing yards. Unfortunately, he was also sacked a lot — especially during the 11 seasons he spent with the Philadelphia Eagles. During his stint in the City of Brotherly Love, he was sacked 422 times in 122 games, leading the league five times. This means he hit the ground 11.2% of the time when he dropped back to pass. The 72 sacks he…
