Top 10 Kansas City Chiefs achievements of all time

7. Justin Houston – The 22 Sack Season

The Kansas City Chiefs got an absolute steal in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft when they took linebacker Justin Houston out of Georgia with the 70th pick overall. Houston was an All-SEC First Team selection his senior season with an impressive 10 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss. He clearly had immense talent, but off-the-field issues resulted in his slide to the Chiefs in the middle rounds.

Houston would become a force rather quickly for the Chiefs, starting 10 games his rookie season and registering double digit sacks in his next three. By far his best season, and the one that lands him on this list, came in 2014.

Though the Chiefs missed the playoffs that season, the only time during Andy Reid’s tenure as head coach, the overall defensive output from that year’s unit was one of the best in recent memory for the Chiefs. The cornerstone of that defense was the next-to-unstoppable pass rush of Justin Houston.

That season he amassed the most sacks in franchise history with 22, breaking Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas‘ mark of 20 that had stood for 23 seasons. He also moved into a tie for second all time, alongside Jared Allen and Mark Gastineau, only half a sack shy of the all-time record of 22.5 set my Michael Strahan in 2001.

Houston would receive a number of accolades from this season from being voted the 27th best player in the NFL by his peers to being voted First Team All Pro by the Associated Press. Unfortunately, this season would be the peak of Houston’s career in Kansas City. Consistent injuries prevented him from ever truly recapturing his former glory, but his 2014 season still stands tall as one of the greatest achievements in franchise history.