October is when fans and media typically get serious about watching stats, and this year’s list of leaders going into Game 6 weekend is especially intriguing. Some of the names are familiar—Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams leads the league in passing yards, while running back Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers is first in all-purpose yardage. 

Defensively, though, there’s an unfamiliar name in this list. Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto is leading the league in sacks with seven, and Bonitto is also on pace to break the all-time record for sacks set by former lineman Michael Strahan of the New York Giants and T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Strahan set his record back in 2001, while Watt tied it during the 2021 series. 

Bonitto may be an unknown name among fans, but he’s well-known to Broncos fans. He was drafted out of Oklahoma back in 2022 in the second round, and he had a quiet first season, posting 1.5 sacks in his rookie year. 

Since then, though, his stock has risen exponentially. He had seven sacks in 2023, then 15 last year. He’s part of a fierce Broncos defense that’s been dominant lately, and that defense is getting national attention after Denver beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 21-17. 

Now Bonitto is returning to the scene of his very first sack. Nick Kosmider of The Athletic chronicled this little trip in the wayback machine, and it occurred back in 2022 against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London’s Wembley Stadium. 

Fellow Denver linebacker Jonathan Cooper saw what would become a familiar move in that game. Bonitto lined up against Jaguars tackle Cam Robinson, but the linebacker spun out of Robinson’s block to strip-sack quarterback Trevor Lawrence for a 13-yard loss. 

“I just remember seeing that, seeing the instincts and the way he’s able to constantly rush where you think his rush is over and then it’s not,” said Cooper, who was rushing from the opposite side of the play when Bonitto sacked Lawrence. “He’ll spin back and counter back. With his speed and everything like that, he’s super gifted, super athletic, and he’s very smart.”

Cooper is also aware of what Bonito is doing now, record-wise. He’s also on pace to eclipse the franchise record of 18.5 sacks, which was set by Von Miller back in 2012. 

“For him to be beating Von Miller’s (pace), I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s what’s up!'” said Cooper, who was a rookie during Miller’s final season in Denver. “I feel like I knew (Bonitto’s potential in 2022), but he’s definitely surprised me.”

Bonitto is a little undersized at 6’3”, 240 pounds to be chasing this kind of record, and he’s going to get a lot more attention now. But Denver as a special group of pass rushers, and the New York Jets have a lot more to to worry about than just Bonitto on Sunday. 

“They roll different guys in there that can get after the quarterback,” Jets pass-game coordinator Scott Turner said this week. “They’re relentless. You hold the wall or scramble, you can block them for a little bit, but they’re going to keep coming. We gotta do a great job with the receivers and tight ends of getting separation early so we can get the ball out of our hand, and then, obviously, we gotta block them.”