MACK’S NEXT SACK WILL BE NO. 100
A 10-year veteran at 32, Bolts’ OLB only a half-sack from mark
Chargers outside linebacker Khalil Mack needs one sack to top 100 for his Hall of Fame-caliber career in the NFL and also to break his career high of 15 in a year, set during the 2015 season while with the then-Oakland Raiders and matched in the first 12 games of this one.
Actually, he’s at 991⁄2 sacks going into the Chargers’ game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday at SoFi Stadium, so he really only needs a half-sack to hit 100 for his career. He’s had three consecutive games with two or more, so it would seem likely he would reach the milestone Sunday.
“He’s a freak,” Chargers defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day said.
Joseph-Day meant that as a compliment, of course.
Mack has anchored a Chargers defense that’s been tough to dent the past two weeks, giving up 20 points to the AFC co-leading Baltimore Ravens in a 20-10 loss on Nov. 26 at SoFi and blanking the New England Patriots, 6-0, last Sunday. He moved into the league lead with two sacks against New England.
“These guys are third overall as a team in sacks,” Broncos coach Sean Payton told reporters in Denver when asked about Mack and the Chargers’ defense. “The thing that jumps out at you defensively with some things is that they are playing really good third-down defense. They’re third-best in the NFL.
“Over the years consistently, (Mack) has been one of those players. His coach in college I know really well. I worked for (former University of Buffalo defensive coordinator) Lou Tepper. Lou raved about him right when he came out. He’s got great technique. He’s strong and he plays with good energy and effort.
“He’s special.” Payton would get no argument from the Chargers. At the tender age of 32 and playing in his 10th season in
the NFL, Mack has been as menacing as he was when he was younger, during his first four seasons with the Raiders and his next four with the Chicago Bears. The Chargers acquired him on March 16, 2022.
An offseason foot injury limited Mack’s preparation for the 2022 season, but he still had eight sacks and was selected to the Pro Bowl for the seventh time in his career.
This season, he’s had no such injuries and he’s been a consistent troublemaker for opposing linemen and quarterbacks.
“When he’s been healthy, he’s shown that he is one of the top players in the game,” Chargers coach Brandon Staley said. “There aren’t many players in the history of this game that play the way Khalil Mack does, that can impact the game in the run and the pass. He is healthy.
“I think that it has been a team effort around him to create opportunities (to sack quarterbacks) — coaching, playing, and his teammates. You take all of that out of it and just focus on Khalil and this is one of
the rare players in the game. That’s how the rare players play, they play like he does.”
Like a freak.
Leonard sidelined
The Chargers ruled defensive back Deane Leonard out of Sunday’s game because of a foot injury that he suffered during last Sunday’s game against the Patriots, making it possible that cornerback Michael Davis could return to the lineup after he was limited to special teams duty the past two games.
Staley referred to Leonard’s injury as “kind of a heel contusion,” an issue similar to one safety Alohi Gilman dealt with earlier in the season. Gilman was sidelined
for games against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Dallas Cowboys and the Kansas City Chiefs before returning in Week 8 against the Chicago Bears.
In addition, wide receiver Joshua Palmer will not play against the Broncos after his 21-day practice window opened Wednesday following a five-game stint on injured reserve because of a sprained right knee.
Staley said there is not a firm timetable for Palmer’s return to the lineup, however.
“It was good to have him at practice this week,” Staley said.