NFL sack leaders 2025 (through Week 8): Brian Burns sets the pace as Broncos top the team race

The pass-rush board tightened in Week 8, but one theme held: edge speed is ruling 2025. With two months to play, Brian Burns has edged to the front of the NFL sack leaders, while Denver’s wave after wave of rushers has the Broncos pacing the league in team sacks. Here’s where things stand after Sunday’s games—and what the numbers say about where the leaderboard goes next.

NFL sack leaders (players) — Week 8 snapshot

1. Brian Burns (Giants) — 9.0

2. Byron Young (Rams) — 9.0

3. Nik Bonitto (Broncos) — 8.0
   T-4) Jonathon Cooper (Broncos) — 6.0
   T-4) Aidan Hutchinson (Lions) — 6.0
   T-4) Tuli Tuipulotu (Chargers) — 6.0
   T-7) Harold Landry III (Patriots) — 5.5
   T-7) Dorance Armstrong (Commanders) — 5.5
   T-7) Rashan Gary (Packers) — 5.5
   T-7) Micah Parsons (Packers) — 5.5

Context notes: The top tier is crowded, and small week-to-week swings (half-sacks, stat corrections) can shuffle places two through ten. Several stars also posted spike weeks that closed gaps, setting up a volatile November.

Team sack leaders — Denver’s depth is the tiebreaker

1. Broncos — 34

2. Rams — 26

3. Browns — 24
   T-4) Lions — 23
   T-4) Seahawks — 23

Why Denver leads: it’s not just one closer. With Nik Bonitto winning with speed and Jonathon Cooper converting power to finish, Denver is creating pressure from multiple launch points, allowing the scheme to stay honest on early downs. The Broncos also finish—hits are turning into sacks, not just hurries.

How the leaders are getting home

• Brian Burns, hand speed + arc discipline. Burns is winning the corner without getting washed past the pocket, resetting his aiming point to trim escape lanes. His inside counter has forced tackles to overset, fueling the shared league lead.

• Byron Young, motor and leverage. Young’s second effort shows up late in downs; he condenses space with leverage and finishes when quarterbacks hitch.

• Nik Bonitto, first-step shock. Bonitto’s jump off the ball is stressing protection rules. When teams slide help his way, Denver isolates one-on-ones elsewhere.

• Aidan Hutchinson, plan variety. Speed-to-power, long-arm stabs, and twist timing give him answers against different body types at tackle.

• Tuli Tuipulotu, stunts and angles. Usage in movement fronts creates free runs that he consistently cashes.

What changed in Week 8

• The race at the top tightened. Burns and Young kept pace, but the pack directly behind them stacked production, compressing the leaderboard from third to tenth.

• Team tiers hardened. Denver built a multi-sack cushion, while the Rams and Browns separated from the middle class. That gap matters: team environment often predicts whether individual totals keep climbing.

Trends that will shape November

1) Protection rules vs. wide alignments.
Defenses are living in wide-9 looks and simulated pressures that force slide decisions pre-snap. Tackles are seeing more space to defend, which favors bendy rushers like Burns and Bonitto. Expect coordinators to counter with heavier chips and condensed formations, which could redirect sacks to interior games.

2) Interior heat is back in vogue.
While edges headline, several teams are slanting and looping tackles to create B-gap wins that flush QBs toward the star rusher. That symbiosis—interior push collapsing depth, edge speed closing width—is why Denver and Cleveland convert pressures at a high rate.

3) Time to throw vs. sack odds.
Offenses leaning into quick game blunt raw sack totals, but they also invite tip-and-pick plays. When opponents chase explosives against top pass rushes, sack leaders feast. Watch matchups against downfield offenses in the coming three weeks.

Who’s best positioned to surge

• Micah Parsons (Packers). After a three-sack eruption two weeks ago, his snap-by-snap win rate suggests more spikes are coming, especially against struggling right tackles.

• Aidan Hutchinson (Lions). Usage variability (stand-up, hand-in-dirt, inside on passing downs) gives him extra at-bats.

• Tuli Tuipulotu (Chargers). Stunt-heavy game plans in November could pad totals even when the ball is out quickly.

Schedule leverage: why the next three games matter

Several leaders face offensive lines with bottom-third pressure rates allowed over the next two weeks. That’s where half-sacks become full ones and ties break. Conversely, trips to heavy play-action teams can suppress totals even when film says the rush “won.” Look for sacks to cluster against opponents starting backup tackles or rotating guards due to injury.

What it means for awards and records

The Defensive Player of the Year conversation typically hardens by Thanksgiving. If Burns or Young can string another multi-sack game in the next two weeks, they’ll establish a numeric anchor voters remember. For team marks, Denver’s current pace projects comfortably into the 50+ sack range—a threshold that often correlates with top-10 scoring defenses.

Through Week 8, the NFL sack leaderboard is a two-man sprint with a fast-closing peloton—and a team race led by Denver’s depth and finishing. The next month will be decided by matchups as much as talent: who draws backup linemen, who avoids chip help, and which defenses keep turning pressure into drive-killing sacks. For now, Brian Burns owns a share of the top spot, Byron Young refuses to blink, and the Broncos are making life miserable for every quarterback on the schedule.