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List of NFL annual forced fumbles leaders

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In American football, a forced fumble is when a defensive player causes the ball carrier to lose possession of the ball. The defender will typically either rip or punch the ball out to cause the ball carrier to fumble. This is a list of National Football League (NFL) players who have led the regular season in forced fumbles each year. Forced fumbles aren’t an official stat recorded by the NFL.[3] Pro Football Reference has data on forced fumbles back to 1977, but the data before 1999 is incomplete.[4] Greg Lloyd and Robert Mathis currently hold the record for most seasons leading the league in forced fumbles with 3. Osi Umenyiora and Charles Tillman currently hold the record for most forced fumbles in a season with 10.

Robert Mathis led the league three times throughout his career and is the all-time leader in forced fumbles, with 52.[1][2]

NFL annual forced fumble leaders

Charles "Peanut" Tillman, who led the league in 2012, was known for his ability to force fumbles with a well-timed punch commonly known as the "Peanut Punch".[5][6]
Joey Bosa is the most recent forced fumbles leader having led the league with 5 forced fumbles in the 2025 season.
More information Symbol, Meaning ...
Key
Symbol Meaning
Leader The player who recorded the most forced fumbles in the NFL
FF The total number of forced fumbles the player had
GP The number of games played by a player during the season
† Pro Football Hall of Fame member
^ The player is an active player
* Player set the single-season record for forced fumbles
(#) Denotes the number of times a player appears in this list
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Note that the forced fumble totals from 1977 to 1998 are incomplete.

More information Season, Leader ...
NFL annual forced fumbles leaders by season
Season Leader FF GP Team Refs
1977 Mike Butler 5* 14 Green Bay Packers [2][7]
Harry Carson† 14 New York Giants [2][8]
Chuck Crist 14 New Orleans Saints [2][9]
Tim Gray 10 Kansas City Chiefs [2][10]
John Mendenhall 14 New York Giants [2][11]
Lee Roy Selmon† 14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers [2][12]
1978 Steve Nelson 7* 14 New England Patriots [2][13]
1979 Kurt Allerman 6 16 St. Louis Cardinals [2][14]
Wally Chambers Tampa Bay Buccaneers [2][15]
Dirt Winston Pittsburgh Steelers [2][16]
1980 Ted Hendricks† 6 16 Oakland Raiders [2][17]
1981 Mike Douglass 9* 16 Green Bay Packers [2][18]
1982 Greg Brown 6 9 Philadelphia Eagles [2][19]
1983 Dave Brown 6 16 Seattle Seahawks [2][20]
1984 Randy White† 7 16 Dallas Cowboys [2][21]
1985 Jacob Green 8 16 Seattle Seahawks [2][22]
Linden King San Diego Chargers [2][23]
1986 Rickey Jackson† 6 16 New Orleans Saints [2][24]
Johnny Rembert New England Patriots [2][25]
1987 Chris Doleman† 6 12 Minnesota Vikings [2][26]
1988 Johnny Meads 6 16 Houston Oilers [2][27]
1989 Dennis Smith 7 14 Denver Broncos [2][28]
Greg Townsend 16 Los Angeles Raiders [2][29]
1990 Mark Carrier 5 16 Chicago Bears [2][30]
Kevin Greene† 15 Los Angeles Rams [2][31]
Charles Haley† 16 San Francisco 49ers [2][32]
Harry Hamilton 16 Tampa Bay Buccaneers [2][33]
Johnny Meads (2) 16 Houston Oilers [2][27]
Vince Newsome 16 Los Angeles Rams [2][34]
Bruce Smith† 16 Buffalo Bills [2][35]
1991 Greg Lloyd 7 16 Pittsburgh Steelers [2][36]
1992 Derrick Thomas† 8 16 Kansas City Chiefs [2][37]
1993 Lonnie Marts 6 16 Kansas City Chiefs [2][38]
1994 Greg Lloyd (2) 6 15 Pittsburgh Steelers [2][36]
Neil Smith 14 Kansas City Chiefs [2][39]
1995 Ken Harvey 6 16 Washington Redskins [2][40]
Greg Lloyd (3) Pittsburgh Steelers [2][36]
Ed McDaniel Minnesota Vikings [2][41]
Anthony Pleasant Cleveland Browns [2][42]
1996 Roy Barker 8 16 San Francisco 49ers [2][43]
1997 Tony Brackens 6 15 Jacksonville Jaguars [2][44]
1998 Michael Sinclair 6 16 Seattle Seahawks [2][45]
1999 Tony Brackens (2) 8 16 Jacksonville Jaguars [2][44]
2000 Trace Armstrong 7 16 Miami Dolphins [2][46]
2001 John Abraham 6 16 New York Jets [2][47]
Michael Strahan† New York Giants [2][48]
2002 Dwight Freeney† 9 16 Indianapolis Colts [2][49]
Leonard Little St. Louis Rams [2][50]
2003 LaVar Arrington 6 12 Washington Redskins [2][51]
Leonard Little (2) 16 St. Louis Rams [2][50]
Simeon Rice 16 Tampa Bay Buccaneers [2][52]
Terrell Suggs 16 Baltimore Ravens [2][53]
2004 Robert Mathis 6 16 Indianapolis Colts [2][54]
Will Smith New Orleans Saints [2][55]
2005 Robert Mathis (2) 8 13 Indianapolis Colts [2][54]
2006 Jason Taylor† 9 16 Miami Dolphins [2][56]
2007 Chris Harris 8 15 Carolina Panthers [2][57]
2008 James Harrison 7 15 Pittsburgh Steelers [2][58]
2009 Shaun Phillips 7 16 San Diego Chargers [2][59]
2010 Osi Umenyiora 10* 16 New York Giants [2][60]
2011 Terrell Suggs (2) 7 16 Baltimore Ravens [2][53]
2012 Charles Tillman 10 16 Chicago Bears [2][61]
2013 Robert Mathis (3) 8 16 Indianapolis Colts [2][54]
2014 Ryan Kerrigan 5 16 Washington Redskins [2][62]
Robert Quinn St. Louis Rams [2][63]
2015 Jamie Collins 5 12 New England Patriots [2][64]
2016 Vic Beasley 6 16 Atlanta Falcons [2][65]
Bruce Irvin Oakland Raiders [2][66]
2017 Yannick Ngakoue 6 16 Jacksonville Jaguars [2][67]
2018 Dee Ford 7 16 Kansas City Chiefs [2][68]
J. J. Watt Houston Texans [2][69]
2019 Chandler Jones 8 16 Arizona Cardinals [2][70]
T. J. Watt^ Pittsburgh Steelers [2][71]
2020 Marlon Humphrey^ 8 15 Baltimore Ravens [2][72]
2021 Shaquille Leonard 8 17 Indianapolis Colts [2][73]
2022 Alex Highsmith^ 5 17 Pittsburgh Steelers [2][74]
Haason Reddick Philadelphia Eagles [2][75]
2023 Bradley Chubb^ 6 16 Miami Dolphins [2][76]
Antoine Winfield Jr^ 17 Tampa Bay Buccaneers [2][77]
2024 T. J. Watt^ (2) 6 17 Pittsburgh Steelers [2][71]
2025 Joey Bosa 5 15 Buffalo Bills [2][78]
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Most seasons leading the league

More information Count, Player ...
Count Player Seasons Team Refs
3 Greg Lloyd 1991, 1994, 1995 Pittsburgh Steelers [2][36]
Robert Mathis 2004, 2005, 2013 Indianapolis Colts [2][54]
2 Tony Brackens 1997, 1999 Jacksonville Jaguars [2][44]
Leonard Little 2002, 2003 St. Louis Rams [2][50]
Johnny Meads 1988, 1990 Houston Oilers [2][27]
Terrell Suggs 2003, 2011 Baltimore Ravens [2][53]
T. J. Watt 2019, 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers [2][71]
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