Throwback Thursdays: Derrick Thomas’ seven-sack day

There are plenty of ways to look at Derrick Thomas’ seven-sack game, but how about we start here: Only 49 players in the NFL last season had at least seven sacks over the entire season.

Thomas did that on one incredible, record-setting afternoon against the Seattle Seahawks.

The Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs, who will meet again on Sunday, used to be AFC West rivals. The Seahawks have since moved to the NFC. The most memorable meeting of the two teams probably happened on Nov. 11, 1990. That game is famous because of the seven sacks Thomas got, and the one he didn’t.

[Join FanDuel.com’s $2.5m Week 11 fantasy league: $25 to enter; top 21,840 teams paid]

Thomas had Dave Krieg almost wrapped up for his eighth sack on the final play. Krieg wiggled free, and found Paul Skansi for a 25-yard touchdown to beat the Chiefs 17-16.

“I thought I had him. He just stumbled back and caught his balance and threw the pass,” Thomas said, according to the Associated Press. “That last sack I didn’t get is the one I’m going to remember.”

That final play just added to the legacy of that game, one of the most memorable regular-season games the league has seen, and one of the greatest single-game performances in NFL history.

Consider that since the NFL started counting sacks, only three other times has a player gotten six sacks in a game. One of the three six-sack games? Thomas against the Raiders in 1998. So yes, in NFL history there have been four times when a player has reached six sacks in a game, and the late, great Thomas accounted for the two of the four.

Only 14 times has there been a five-sack game in NFL history. Bruce Smith, Reggie White, Kevin Greene, Chris Doleman, and Michael Strahan, the top five all-time sack leaders, never got five sacks in a game. That’s part of what makes seven so unbelievable.

Even though very few have even challenged Thomas’ mark since he set it 24 years ago, it’s possible it will be topped, with teams passing more and running more plays. It would take an effort for the ages to break the record though. And to think, Thomas could have had eight.

– – – – – – –

Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab