The Denver Broncos already own one of the NFL’s best defenses. Now their nose tackle wants a piece of history to go with it.
D.J. Jones told reporters at training camp Wednesday that Denver has the personnel to break the single-season NFL sack record, a mark of 72 that has stood since the 1984 Chicago Bears set it. “We can break it. We can break the record,” Jones said, according to NFL.com. “What is that, 72? We can break it.”
Denver isn’t starting from scratch. The Broncos racked up 68 sacks in 2025 — four shy of the Bears’ record — while building one of the stingiest defenses in football. They allowed just 91.1 rushing yards and 187.2 passing yards per game last season, ranking second and sixth in the league, respectively, per ClutchPoints.
The Chase for 72
Only three other teams have ever cracked 70 sacks in a season: the 1987 Bears and 2022 Eagles (70 each), and the 1989 Vikings (71). No one has topped the ’84 Bears, a defense that helped set up their Super Bowl-winning run the following year. Denver has one built-in edge Chicago didn’t: a 17-game schedule instead of 16, as ChiCitySports pointed out this week.
Jones isn’t the only Bronco talking record chase. Defensive end Zach Allen said in early July that Denver “fully expects to break it” in 2026, a sentiment Jones echoed at camp — with a food metaphor thrown in for good measure.
“We got what it takes. We’ve tasted it. Now, it’s time to cook the meal, eat it, and take a break,” Jones said. “You know how you eat a good meal, and you lay down after to take a good nap, and you wake up and go eat again? We’re about to eat again. It’s time. We got the numbers, we got the men, we got the willpower, we’ve got free will to go do it. So, it’s up to us, and we’ll go do that.”
Life After Franklin-Myers
The record push comes without one of last year’s top interior disruptors. John Franklin-Myers, who posted a career-high 7.5 sacks for Denver in 2025, signed a three-year, $63 million deal with the Tennessee Titans in free agency this spring, reuniting with former Jets coach Robert Saleh, according to the Titans’ official team site.
Losing that kind of interior pressure would hurt most defenses. Denver’s front seven is deep enough that the drop-off may not show up on the stat sheet. Allen, Nik Bonitto (14 sacks in 2025) and Jonathon Cooper return, and the Broncos have added competition at Franklin-Myers’ old spot, with players like Malcolm Roach pushing for bigger roles up front.
That depth is the whole case for 72. A single pass rusher chasing a record needs health and volume. A defensive line rotating six or seven credible sack threats just needs its top guys to stay on the field.
Denver’s 2025 Sack Numbers vs. NFL History
| Team (Season) | Sacks | Games Played |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bears (1984) | 72 | 16 |
| Minnesota Vikings (1989) | 71 | 16 |
| Chicago Bears (1987) | 70 | 15 (strike season) |
| Philadelphia Eagles (2022) | 70 | 17 |
| Denver Broncos (2025) | 68 | 17 |
The Broncos also have belief from an unlikely corner. Former Bears defensive lineman Dan Hampton, a Hall of Famer on that 1984 unit, told reporters he thinks Denver has a real shot — with the usual caveat. “Every golfer thinks they can shoot 59,” Hampton said. “It’s certainly possible to break our record. Lots has to go right.”
Jones knows the margin is thin. Four sacks separated Denver from history last season, and the Broncos will need better injury luck and continued growth from younger pieces like Eyioma Uwazurike to close that gap. But after a season that already produced 68 sacks without Franklin-Myers’ full 2024 production, nobody in the Broncos’ building sounds like they’re bluffing.
