The 2025 NFL season saw a historic amount of pressure placed on quarterbacks due to the extreme talent of opposing defensive teams.
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This past season, there were the most counted pressures ever in history: 377 pressures. As well as the fifth most sacks in NFL history, with 68 total sacks. The season-high sacks were led by Cleveland Browns defensive end Miles Garrett. Garrett led the season with 23 total sacks, setting the record for the most total sacks in a single season— breaking T.J. Watts’ record of 22.5 in the 2021 season. Detroit Lions defensive end and edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson led the pressure count with 100 total pressures.
Reflecting on these stats, it is clear that this season was different compared to any other season for a quarterback. These defensive ends were aggressive and quick in getting to the quarterbacks as soon as the ball was snapped, preventing quarterbacks from throwing the ball away. Let’s face it, when a guy who is 275 pounds runs at you because your offensive line slipped up, it’s not the easiest task to get away from them. In the mix of trying to look all the way down the field to find an open guy and you’re trying to run from someone trying to sack you, the pressure is on.
According to Spotrac, this season, the offensive line struggled with injuries the most, with 115 total injuries. In order for a quarterback to be successful, the o-line has to be strong and know what they are doing.
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Even when the Philadelphia Eagles lost their right tackle Lane Johnson to a foot injury, the percentage of allowed pressure on their quarterback from opposing teams increased to 12%. Injuries and having to replace elite offensive linemen to rookies can impact a quarterback’s performance tremendously and place pressure on a quarterback to succeed.
Let’s look into Super Bowl LX, played on Feb. 8, 2026, where the New England Patriots lost to the Seattle Seahawks.
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The Patriots allowed six total sacks, 19 pressures and 11 hits to the quarterback throughout the entire game. The reason for these high numbers is due to the offensive line’s struggles. They were unable to protect and block Seattle’s defense.
Veering from the blame of the offensive line, we see issues that quarterbacks began to do more and more this season. The “hold” problem, where quarterbacks hold the ball too long looking for a player and end up getting sacked, or even worse, causing a fumble. On third downs, instead of throwing check-down passes, quarterbacks would take too much time in the pocket and get sacked instead. In a league where defensive players are becoming more and more elite, the time in the pocket is limited, and overusing this time can result in turnovers. For example, Justin Fields, New York Jets quarterback, had an average of 3.50 seconds to throw the ball. This resulted in him recording 27 sacks in the nine games he played in.
The 2025 NFL season marked a significant shift in how quarterbacks had to play this season. This season, there was a new defensive debut of talent, with high stats and defensive record breakers. The second most injuries to the offensive linemen in history impacted the team’s ability to stop star players, which was a huge pressure count on the quarterbacks. Teams need to look to improve their offensive lines and take less time in the pocket. Looking into the upcoming NFL draft on April 23., the Las Vegas Raiders need to draft new elite offensive linemen as they recorded 64 sacks. They finished the season off with the worst ranked offensive line. The Los Angeles Chargers ranked last in pass-blocking grade and struggled with aging offensive linemen.
