In American football, a tackle is when a defensive player forces the player with the ball to the ground or out of bounds to stop the runner from advancing downfield and to end the play. This is a list of National Football League (NFL) players who have led the regular season in solo and combined tackles each year. Tackles are not an official stat recorded by the NFL and are tracked by a scorekeeper of the home team. Pro Football Reference has combined tackle numbers dating back to the season and solo tackle numbers back to the season. However, combined tackle numbers before the season are incomplete and limited to few players.
The record for most solo tackles is held by Ray Lewis, who made 156 in the season, while the record for most combined tackles belongs to Hardy Nickerson, who made 214 in .
NFL annual combined tackles leaders
+ Key Symbol Meaning Leader The player who recorded the most combined tackles in the NFL Combined tackles The total number of combined tackles the player had GP The number of games played by a player during the season Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame ^ Active player * Set the single-season combined tackle record (#) Denotes the number of times a player appears in this list
Note that the combined tackle totals from 1978 to 1986 are incomplete. + NFL annual combined tackle leaders by season Season Leader Team 34* 15 Cleveland Browns (2) 103* 16 Cleveland Browns 118* 16 Washington Redskins (3) 128* 16 Cleveland Browns 68 9 San Francisco 49ers 114 14 Denver Broncos (4) 126 16 Cleveland Browns 160* 16 New York Jets (2) 174* 16 New York Jets 126 12 Minnesota Vikings (3) 162 16 New York Jets 184* 16 Philadelphia Eagles 201* 16 Atlanta Falcons (2) 207* 16 Atlanta Falcons (3) 193 15 Atlanta Falcons 214* 16 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 195 16 Detroit Lions (4) 152 16 Atlanta Falcons 165 16 New York Jets 184 16 Baltimore Ravens 158 16 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2) 165 16 Baltimore Ravens 160 16 Indianapolis Colts (3) 162 16 Baltimore Ravens 156 16 Miami Dolphins 166 16 Houston Texans 152 16 Tennessee Titans San Diego Chargers 173 16 New York Jets (2) 165 16 Miami Dolphins 174 16 San Francisco 49ers 154 16 Cleveland Browns (2) 152 16 San Francisco 49ers 174 16 New England Patriots 166 16 Washington Redskins 164 16 Carolina Panthers 171 16 Cincinnati Bengals (2) 164 16 Carolina Panthers 154 16 San Francisco 49ers 167 16 Seattle Seahawks 144 16 Green Bay Packers Cleveland Browns Buffalo Bills 163 15 Indianapolis Colts (2) 159 16 Seattle Seahawks 164 16 Houston Texans ^ 192 17 Atlanta Falcons ^ (2) 184 17 Jacksonville Jaguars (3) 183 17 Seattle Seahawks ^ 173 17 Indianapolis Colts ^ 183 17 Miami Dolphins
Most seasons leading the league + Count Player Seasons Team(s) 4 , , , Cleveland Browns , , , Atlanta Falcons 3 , , New York Jets , , Baltimore Ravens , , Seattle Seahawks 2 , Carolina Panthers , Atlanta Falcons / Jacksonville Jaguars , Miami Dolphins , San Francisco 49ers Source:
NFL annual solo tackles leaders
+ Key Symbol Meaning Leader The player who recorded the most solo tackles in the NFL Solo tackles The total number of solo tackles the player had GP The number of games played by a player during the season Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame ^ Active player * Set the single-season solo tackle record (#) Denotes the number of times a player appears in this list
+ NFL annual solo tackle leaders by season Season Leader Team 124* 16 San Diego Chargers Detroit Lions 114 16 Seattle Seahawks 123 16 New York Jets 156* 16 Baltimore Ravens 123 16 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2) 130 16 Baltimore Ravens (2) 123 16 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3) 114 16 Baltimore Ravens 117 16 Chicago Bears 126 16 Atlanta Falcons (3) 109 16 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 128 16 New York Jets 126 16 Houston Texans 136 16 San Francisco 49ers 110 16 Carolina Panthers (2) 114 16 San Francisco 49ers 113 16 New England Patriots 116 16 Cleveland Browns 117 16 St. Louis Rams 122 15 Jacksonville Jaguars 117 16 Detroit Lions 116 16 San Francisco 49ers 108 16 Tampa Bay Buccaneers ^ 97 16 New York Jets Seattle Seahawks 111 15 Indianapolis Colts ^ 104 16 Arizona Cardinals 106 16 Houston Texans ^ 109 17 Seattle Seahawks ^ 128 17 Jacksonville Jaguars ^ (2) 111 17 Jacksonville Jaguars ^ 98 17 New York Jets ^ (2) 99 17 Miami Dolphins
Most seasons leading the league + Count Player Seasons Team(s) 3 , , Tampa Bay Buccaneers , , Baltimore Ravens 2 , Seattle Seahawks / Miami Dolphins , Jacksonville Jaguars , San Francisco 49ers
Source:
See also List of NFL career tackles leaders
References