The Deacon Jones Award, which goes to the player who leads the NFL in sacks, is a three-man race.
Kansas City’s Justin Houston leads the NFL with 18.0 sacks heading into Week 17. He’s followed closely by Houston’s J.J. Watt at 17.5, and Baltimore’s Elvis Dumervil at 17.0. One of them will almost certainly finish the season as the sacks leader; fourth place Connor Barwin, at 14.5 sacks, is probably out of range.
Watt led the league in sacks in 2012 and Dumervil led the league in 2009, but the Deacon Jones Award was only created last year after the death of Jones, a Hall of Famer recognized as not only one of the greatest pass rushers ever but as the man who originated the term “sack.” The inaugural winner last year was Robert Mathis of the Colts.
Houston might seem to be the favorite to earn the award because he currently has the lead, but Watt and Dumervil are well positioned to pass him on Sunday. Houston will face Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, who has only been sacked 29 times in 15 games this season. Watt gets to feast on Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles, who has been sacked 50 times in 13 games, while Dumervil faces Cleveland’s Connor Shaw, an undrafted rookie playing in his first game on Sunday.
Houston, Watt and Dumervil are all playing for a spot in the playoffs on Sunday as well, so they’re probably not thinking much about individual recognition. But one of them will get the recognition that comes with the top spot on the sack list for the 2014 season at the end of the day on Sunday.