Odds on Which Team Will Lead NFL in Sacks During 2019 Season: Bears Listed as Favorites

• The Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers led the league with 52 sacks last season
• The Chicago Bears lost defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who is now the head coach of the Denver Broncos
• The Broncos could be a good value play at +1600

The Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers led the NFL in sacks last season with 52 apiece. However, it’s the Chicago Bears who are favored to lead in the category this season while the Minnesota Vikings and Steelers are not far behind. Which team is the best bet on the board to lead in quarterback sacks in 2019?

2019 NFL Team Sack Leader Odds

Odds taken 7/31/19.

Chiefs Led in Sacks But Expected to Fall Back

A lot of people were surprised by the fact that the Chiefs led in sacks as their defense simply wasn’t that good overall. However, Chris Jones had 15.5 sacks, Dee Ford had 13 and Justin Houston had nine. That trio combined for more than half of the team’s sacks.

The issue is that the Chiefs lost Ford and Houston, although they did add Seattle Seahawks’ leading sacker Frank Clark. Kansas City was just 24th in sacks in 2017 and many are expecting them to fall back into the middle of the pack.

Can Bears Lead the Way?

Chicago was one of the best teams at getting after the quarterback as 15 different players notched at least one sack. Khalil Mack led the way with 12.5 and remember that he missed two games last season.

My concern with this team is that they were led by defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who has since left to become the head coach of the Denver Broncos. The team did hire Chuck Pagano to be the new defensive coordinator and while he’s known as a shrewd defensive mind, he hasn’t coached a defense since 2011.

Overall, I also feel like the Bears overachieved a bit last season. I think they fall back a little bit as a team and I don’t think the defense will be as top-notch now that they have to face a tougher schedule.

Pass on Vikings

The Vikings are near the top of the list but I’m not sure they deserve to be there. It feels like this unit is still a good one but is not the elite unit we saw a couple of years ago. Up front, Danielle Hunter will have to do the heavy lifting while the team is hoping that Everson Griffen can return to form after a lost season.

Remember that this team lost Sheldon Richardson and Tom Johnson off the defensive line. Not only did that duo combine for nine sacks but they also attracted a lot of attention that freed up others. Mike Zimmer will coach up the defense but I don’t expect them to lead in sacks this year.

Value With the Broncos?

Speaking of Fangio’s departure, I’m expecting him to have a sizable impact on the Denver Broncos. This is a defensive unit that really fell off under Vance Joseph but they still have a lot of quality. Von Miller has the potential to lead the league in sacks while Bradley Chubb is a rising star.

What’s the Best Bet?

I like the Steelers in this spot as this is a defense that’s been Top 10 in sacks in each of the last four seasons, including Top 3 in three of those years. The same cast is back from last season, for the most part, while the team also spent a first-round pick on Devin Bush, who should be a big-time playmaker at linebacker.

The Steelers are the best bet among the favorites but I’d also take a flier on the Broncos. They’re undervalued with this prop.