Titans have new all-time sacks leader after PFR update

Two folks over at Pro Football Reference, John Turney and Nick Webster, have worked tirelessly to record sacks compiled between 1960 and 1981, before they were an official stat — and their research shows that the Tennessee Titans have a new all-time leader in the category.

Defensive end Elvin Bethea, who played for the Houston Oilers from 1968 through 1983, now tops the list with 105, surpassing the previous franchise leader, defensive lineman Ray Childress, who had 75.5.

According to Pro Football Reference, Bethea, a Hall of Famer and eight-time Pro Bowler, totaled 88 sacks from 1969 through 1976, including six campaigns with double-digit sacks, and a career-high 16 in 1973.

Thanks to decades of research by John Turney and Nick Webster, we have updated our site to add sack data all the way back to 1960, 20 years before it became an officially recorded statistic

Check out our blog to learn more about this amazing new update https://t.co/CuvMtx7ReT pic.twitter.com/BLgybiu8R5

— ProFootballReference (@pfref) July 12, 2021

But the top spot in Titans franchise history wasn’t the only one impacted by this update. Here’s a look at the top 10, both before and after (an asterisk denotes a new addition to the top 10, or a player who has moved up).

Before

1. Ray Childress – 75.5
2. William Fuller – 59.0
3. Sean Jones – 57.5
4. Jevon Kearse – 52.0
5. Jurrell Casey – 51.0
6. Derrick Morgan – 44.5
7. Kyle Vanden Bosch – 38.5
8. Jesse Baker – 34.0
9. Brian Orakpo – 26.0
10. Henry Ford and Albert Haynesworth – 24.0

After

1. Elvin Bethea – 105.0*
2. Ray Childress – 75.5
3. Jesse Baker – 66.0*
4. William Fuller – 59.0
5. Sean Jones – 57.5
6. Jevon Kearse – 52.0
7. Jurrell Casey – 51.0
8. Robert Brazile – 48.0*
9. Ted Washington – 45.0*
10. Derrick Morgan – 44.5

Outside linebackers Robert Brazile and Ted Washington are now both in the top 10, while defensive end Jesse Baker has moved up to No. 3.

Defensive end Jevon Kearse, defensive tackle Jurrell Casey and outside linebacker Derrick Morgan, the three Titans era sacks leaders, were all negatively impacted by the stat update and have moved down the list.

Four more Titans era defenders, linebacker Brian Orakpo, defensive tackles Albert Haynesworth and Henry Ford (Ford also played for the Oilers), and defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch are now completely out of the top 10.

Titans history as we know it has changed.