Quarterback sack In American football and Canadian football , a sack occurs when the quarterback ( or another offensive player acting as a passer ) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before he can throw a forward pass , when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the " pocket " and the intent of what he was going to do is unclear , or when a passer runs out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage due to defensive pressure . This often occurs if the opposing team ' s defensive line , linebacker s or defensive backs are able to quickly get past blocking players of the offensive team ( the quarterback ' s protection ) , or if the quarterback is unable to find a back to hand the ball off to or an available eligible receiver ( including wide receiver s , running back s and tight end s ) to catch the ball , allowing the defense a longer opportunity to tackle the quarterback . In the NFL , it is possible to record a sack for zero yards . The QB must pass the statistical line of scrimmage to avoid the sack . A sack is also credited when a defender causes the quarterback to fumble and the defending team recovers the ball behind or at the line of scrimmage . Yardage . In the NFL yards lost on the play are added as negative yardage to the team ' s passing totals ; however , the quarterback ' s individual passing total stats remains unchanged . Previously , tackling a player behind the line of scrimmage resulted in a loss from that player ' s ( passing ) statistics , even if it were fairly obvious a rush play had been intended . NCAA continues to subtract sack yardage from individual rushing totals . Rules . To be considered a sack the quarterback must intend to throw a forward pass . If the play is designed for the quarterback to rush ( run ) the ball , any loss is subtracted from the quarterback ' s rushing total ( and the play is ruled a Tackle - for - loss as opposed to a sack ) . If the quarterback ' s intent is not obvious , statisticians use certain criteria , such as the offensive line blocking scheme , to decide . Unique situations where a loss reduces a quarterback ' s rushing total ( not a sack ) are " kneel downs " ( used to run time off the game clock ) . A player will receive credit for half of a sack when multiple players contribute to the sacking of a quarterback , even if more than two players contributed . History . The term " Quarterback sack " was first coined by Hall of Fame defensive end Deacon Jones . Jones , who played in the NFL from 1961 to 1974 , felt that a sack devastated the offense in the same way that a city was devastated when it was sacked . However , the term " sack " was not widely used before ca . 1970 ; previously one would simply refer to a player ' s being tackled behind the line ( of scrimmage ) , in so many words . The NFL only began to keep track of times a quarterback was sacked since 1963 and sacks by defensive players in 1982 . Team records have been kept at least since the 1940s . Records . " * Deacon Jones had 26 sacks in 14 games in the 1967 season , and 24 sacks in 14 games in the 1968 season . However , as sacks were not officially recorded by the NFL at that point , Michael Strahan is attributed the single season record . "