Arizona Cardinals: Who has the most sacks in a single season?

Several incredible pass rushers played for the Arizona Cardinals since 1988, but only one can lead the franchise in most single-season sacks.

The Arizona Cardinals have spent time in three different cities throughout their existence: Chicago, St. Louis, and Phoenix (or to put it more accurately, suburbs of Phoenix). Anyway, when you look at the franchise record books, you will often see a mixture of players representing Chicago (1920-1959), St. Louis (1960-1987), and finally, Phoenix (1988-present). 

But when it comes to single season sack leaders, it’s all Arizona, with the top four players having set their respective records during the franchise’s time in the desert. So who ranks number one on the list?

That would belong to Chandler Jones, who in 2019, recorded a sensational 19.0 sacks. Unfortunately for Jones, it was his high-water mark with the Redbirds, and he recorded just 11.5 sacks in 2020 and 2021 combined, before moving on to the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022.

Chandler Jones was a sensational talent for the Arizona Cardinals

In six seasons and 84 games Jones spent in the desert, he logged 71.5 sacks and 131 quarterback hits. And between 2017 and 2019, he was virtually unstoppable, recording 49 combined sacks in those three seasons. 

While Jones tailed off following the 2019 season, he ironically tied the single-game sack record for the franchise in Week 1 of the 2021 season, recording five sacks against the Tennessee Titans. While it was an excellent showing for Jones, he only tallied 5.5 sacks the rest of the way before the Arizona Cardinals let him walk. 

Former general manager Steve Keim loved making trades. And while those trades rarely translated into a consistent winning product on the field, Jones’ consistency over his first four seasons in the desert was nonetheless fun to watch and follow. He will always be remembered as one of the best pass rushers in team history. 

(Statistics provided by Stat-Muse and Pro-Football-Reference)