Carlos Dunlap wants to share 100th-sack jersey with his father, who died in a car crash
Carlos Dunlap listed a set of accomplishments that were important to him upon signing with the Chiefs. He hadn’t played in a Super Bowl, or even won a playoff game. And he wanted to reach 100 career sacks.
Cross one of those off the list.
Dunlap and Chris Jones reached Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence at about the same time Sunday, and each was credited with a half-sack late in the first quarter of the Chiefs’ 27-17 victory.
The half-sack pushed Dunlap’s total in 13 NFL seasons to 100. He’s the 41st player in NFL history to reach the milestone, and the eighth active player to do so. Sacks became an official NFL statistic in 1982.
Dunlap’s first sack in his rookie season, after he was named the defensive MVP for Florida’s 2008 BCS National Championship Game victory over Oklahoma, came against Peyton Manning. Dunlap joins Andre Tippett at 100, and with one more sack the two-time Pro Bowler will pass three on the list, including Charles Haley.
“Playing 10-plus years, and to be in that elite category, is special,” Dunlap said.
So special, in fact, that Dunlap wants who share the achievement with his father, Carlos Dunlap Sr., who died in a car accident in South Carolina earlier this year.
Dunlap told Mitch Holthus of the Chiefs Radio Network in a postgame interview that he’d like place his No. 8 jersey at his father’s resting place.
“I want to put that jersey near him,” Dunlap said. “Hopefully I can get it there. It’s to celebrate him and his hard work and helping me, laying that foundation, him and my mom, for me to be the person I am today and giving me the opportunity to go out here and get 100.”
Dunlap spent his first 11 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, where he recorded 82 1/2 sacks, and two seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, before coming to KC.
He signed with the Chiefs after training camp started in July and has been part of the defensive end rotation. Sunday’s snap counts weren’t available right after the game, but he played at least 58% of the Chiefs’ defensive snaps in three of the past four games. The Chiefs have dealt with the absences of Frank Clark (suspension) and Mike Danna (injury) during that stretch.
Teammates were aware of where Dunlap had stood on the list and were thrilled to see him get No. 100.
“Carlos Dunlap finally got 100,” Jones said. “That’s a huge achievement. Not a lot of guys in this league got 100 sacks. Kudos to him.”
Jones finished the day with 1 1/2 sacks and now has a team-leading seven this season and 56 1/2 for his career.
“Chris is going to get 100 in his career, as well,” Dunlap said.
This story was originally published November 13, 2022 at 5:34 PM.