PITTSBURGH — The Steelers defense is on pace to do something that has never been done in NFL history. And the group doesn't even have a fancy nickname.
No defense — not the Fearsome Foursome, not Doomsday, not the Purple People Eaters, not even the Steel Curtain — has done what the Steelers are on track to do this season.
They are trying to become the first team in history to lead the league in sacks for four consecutive years. With five games to go, they have 41, more than any other team. At that pace, they would finish with 59 1/2 sacks, which would break the team single-season record of 56 set in 2017.
But there is a more immediate sack record in sight, one they can tie Monday against the Washington Football Team.
If the Steelers can take down Washington quarterback Alex Smith, they will tie the NFL record of 69 consecutive games with at least one sack. The record is held by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who accomplished the feat over the course of five seasons (1999-2003).
Curiously, only one person has been a member of both coaching staffs during those record-setting streaks — Mike Tomlin.
"The thing I think about when I think about the two groups are the quality individual rushers who rush well together collectively," said Tomlin, who was a secondary coach with the Buccaneers from 2001-2005. "We had really good individual rushers in Tampa, guys like Warren Sapp and Simeon Rice, but it was more than that. They rushed collectively well together, much like the group we have here."
Unlike the Steelers, Tampa Bay never led the league in sacks in any of the seasons during their streak. The most they had in any season was 55 in 2000, but that was second behind the New Orleans Saints (66). In those 69 games, the Buccaneers had 191 sacks.
Leading the way was Sapp, a Hall of Fame defensive tackle who had 45 1/2 sacks in that stretch. Rice had 37 1/2 followed by defensive end Marcus Jones with 23.
Tampa Bay's streak began on Oct. 10, 1999, when they sacked Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre five times in a 26-23 defeat. Curiously, it ended on Nov. 9, 2003, when they failed to sack Favre in a 20-13 loss to the Packers.
The Steelers' streak has a similar oddity. It began in Week 8 of the 2016 season when they sacked Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco three times in a 21-14 loss. And it has continued through Wednesday's 19-14 victory against the Ravens when they sacked Robert Griffin III three times.
"We have guys that you can characterize as really good individual rushers, but they rush very well together," Tomlin said. "The understanding of the larger body and how they fit in to it makes it happen for them, that's what really provides the consistency."
During their 68-game streak, the Steelers have registered 233 sacks — 42 more than the Buccaneers — and led the league in that category in 2017 (56), 2018 (52) and 2019 (54). The last team to have 50 or more sacks in four consecutive seasons was the New York Giants in 1985-1988. Only one other team has ever led the league in sacks three consecutive years — the Oakland Raiders of the old AFL in 1966-68.
Since their streak began, T.J. Watt has had the most sacks (38 1/2), followed by defensive end Cam Heyward (31) and Bud Dupree (31). With one more sack against Washington, the Steelers will tie Tampa Bay and look to establish a new NFL record in Buffalo.
"Quality players, it starts there," Tomlin said. "Guys like Bud, T.J., Cam and (Stephon) Tuitt, they provide a wave that we ride. They are good individually. They are good collectively, and they are consistent in terms of their performances.
"I was fortunate enough to be a part of that Tampa group that this group often gets compared to, and that is something that they both have in common. They have great individual rushers who show up week in and week out. I'm fortunate to have that perspective."
