Frank Clark
When he was acquired via trade in the spring of 2019, Frank “The Shark” Clark was entering his fifth NFL season and had accumulated 32 sacks in the previous three years as a Seahawk. Clark signed a monstrous contract upon arrival and has largely disappointed in terms of regular-season production. Clark has been a pivotal piece in the defensive transformation that began that offseason, but his regular-season sack production has disappointed. The former Michigan Wolverine has garnered 18.5 sacks in three years for Steve Spagnuolo’s unit, but his playoff self is a different discussion.
It certainly helped that Clark already had 3 sacks in five career playoff games with the Seahawks, but he quickly doubled that number in his first postseason game as a Chief. Before this season, Clark had played six playoff games with the Chiefs and had managed an eye-popping 8 sacks. He has yet to reach the quarterback in this season’s playoffs, but here’s where he stands among other pass rushers in postseason history:
Clark’s 11 playoff sacks rank him tied for fifth, behind just Willie McGinest, Bruce Smith, Terrell Suggs, and Reggie White. That’s incredible company.
While no one would think to begin with Clark when discussing the all-time best pass rushers, one of the most remarkable things about this postseason statistic is that he is still just 28 years old. With just two more sacks, he will pass both Suggs and White and move into third all-time, and those are two players who played in more than twice as many seasons as Clark has. He’s got a distinct chance to catch McGinest (16 sacks) as the league’s all-time leading postseason sack artist before his time is up.
In the end, not one of these statistics will truly matter to the players and coaches involved. They are each locked into their pursuit of one thing that can be found in this game, and that is the Lombardi Trophy. As fun as it is for us to look at the numbers that come with the sport, the only numbers that matter, in the end, are the ones on the scoreboard. Just ask the Packers.