The Washington Football Team focused on adding powerful players to their defensive front in recent years and that approach paid off with one of the top defensive line groups in the league.
Montez Sweat and Chase Young play on the edges of that group and they combined for 16.5 sacks during Young’s rookie season in 2020. Sweat said on Tuesday that the duo has conversations about what they can accomplish in 2021 and beyond, including discussions about setting the NFL’s record for sacks in a single season by a pair of teammates.
“We talk about it all the time, breaking records and stuff like that,” Sweat said, via NBCSportsWashington.com. “I personally want to go get the combined sack record that the guys got back before. We talk about it all the time.”
The record was set by Vikings teammates Chris Doleman and Keith Millard when they combined for 39 sacks in 1989. Both players had more individual sacks than Young and Sweat managed as a tandem last year, so the two players have their work cut out for them if they’re going to make a serious run at the crown.
The good news for Washington is that their defense performed at a high level with the duo posting 16.5 sacks alongside linemates Jonathan Allen and Da’Ron Payne. With all four players back, things look good for a repeat performance regardless of the final sack total.