The Tampa Bay Buccaneers found a way to pull off the upset against the Los Angeles Rams on the road in Week 4. It appears outside linebacker Shaq Barrett managed to make history in the process.
Barrett managed to keep his impressive start to the 2019 NFL season with a crucial strip-sack on quarterback Jared Goff. According to Roy Cummings of the Florida Health Care News, his nine sacks through the first four games ties an NFL record:
Bucs LB Shaq Barrett's 9 sacks are tied for most in NFL history through four games.
Barrett currently shares the record with former New York Jets defensive end Mark Gastineau. Gastineau's historic 22-sack season in 1984 began with his stellar start to the year. Safe to say that the Bucs' star has joined some rather elite company.
Gastineau's sack record was eventually broken by New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan before Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald came within striking distance during the 2018 campaign. Barrett now appears to be on track to etch out his name in the NFL history books.
His emergence has undoubtedly been one of the more pleasant surprises this season. Barrett was coming off a down year with the Denver Broncos after finishing with a mere 3.0 sacks. Fortunately, it seems the change of scenery has helped him enjoy quite the resurgence in his career.
It is still far too early in the year to determine whether or not Barrett has a shot at the sack record. Regardless, his hot start has solidified an early bid for Defensive Player of the Year.
Follow Us
Subscribe