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The Dallas Cowboys They will lead the NFL in sacks in 2022. As a team, their 45 sacks through 11 games are eight more than second-place New England. The defense is generally performing well in this area, with Micah Parsons and Dorance Armstrong in particular standing out and enjoying some of the rare success in franchise history.

Parsons has 12 sacks this year and Armstrong is not far behind with eight. With six games to go, Armstrong is unlikely to get the two more sacks he needs to reach double-digits for the first time in his career. This would give the Cowboys the first two since 2012 to record 10 sacks or more in a season.

DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer had 11.5 and 11 sacks respectively for Dallas that season. It’s been a decade since a pair of Cowboys pass rushers accomplished the same feat, but that’s not all that has happened in team history.

Remember, sacks weren’t officially counted until 1982. So it’s entirely possible, if not impossible, that some of the famous cowboys of the Doomsday Defense may have displayed this sign. But unfortunately we only have the last 40 years to go on with official numbers.

As the greatest pass rusher in team history, DeMarcus Ware, unsurprisingly, appears twice on this list. In the year His 14 sacks in 2007 matched Greg Ellis’ 12.5. A good year for the Cowboys defense, one of the most talented rosters in recent memory.

Believe it or not, that big season was the first time since Ware and Ellis Dallas had a pair of double-digit sack artists in over 20 years! Even the glorious era of Super Bowl dominance in the 90s didn’t pay off. While guys like Charles Haley and Tony Tolbert had big individual seasons, the two-headed monster never took off.

Dallas Cowboys v Buffalo Bills

Randy White (#54) lived in opposite backfields in the 80s.
Photo by George Gojakovic/Getty Images

You really have to go back to 1985 to see more defenders hit double-digit sacks. And that year there were three cowboys who did it; Tall Jones, Jim Jeffcoat and Randy White all had 10.5 sacks or more.

The event was not so rare then. A year ago, Randy White and Jim Jeffcoat were again in double figures. In 1983, it was “The Manster” and Anthony Dickerson.

This success is not so unusual compared to other franchises due to their defensive play and talent at various points. For example, the 90’s Cowboys would have had more sacks if it weren’t for their ball-dominant offense and how much time Emmitt Smith was chewing on the clock. They played to limit their opponents’ possessions, limiting their chances of getting to their quarterback.

In recent years, having two bypass forks produce large volumes has been a staff issue. Imagine if Randy Gregory didn’t have those lost years with suspensions, or maybe if Dallas had more success finding guys to play with DeMarcus Ware?

Thankfully, current Micah Parsons and Dorrance Armstrong aren’t letting anyone down. They’re on pace to do what few Cowboys have done before them, and their individual output is a key reason why Dallas is 8-3 and heading into the postseason full steam ahead.

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