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          NFL Nation

          Jared Allen, Myles Garrett and the 'phantom' sack that still echoes

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          Is Allen an all-time great Viking? (2:09)

          Brian Dawkins explains why many NFL players who spent time with more than one team find it important to retire as a member of the team they spent their best years with, as well as whether Jared Allen will be remembered as an all-time great Viking. (2:09)

          • Kevin SeifertJan 7, 2026, 08:42 PM ET
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              Kevin Seifert is a staff writer who covers the Minnesota Vikings and the NFL at ESPN. Kevin has covered the NFL for over 20 years, joining ESPN in 2008. He was previously a beat reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Washington Times. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia.
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          In an alternate universe, Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett would have finished the 2025 season tied for the most sacks in an NFL season with 23. Instead, because of a late scoring change 14 years ago, Garrett stands alone in the league record book.

          Let's take a quick step back.

          In 2011, Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen was on his way to the best season of his Hall of Fame career. In Week 10, the Vikings visited Lambeau Field to play the Green Bay Packers on "Monday Night Football." The Packers stomped the Vikings 45-7, but Allen finished the game with two sacks against quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

          But two days later, Allen and the Vikings heard from the NFL. Upon review, one of the sacks had been reclassified as a team sack. On the play, Rodgers had bobbled the ball as he scrambled out of the pocket. The ball fell to the ground, and Rodgers fell on it to prevent a turnover. Allen then dove on top of him to ensure that he stayed down.

          On-site official scorers credited Allen with a sack, but the NFL considered it a muff and thus a team sack, Allen said last year in a video produced by the Vikings.

          "I had 23 quarterbacks on the ground that year," Allen said. "And they took it from me."

          The record Garrett broke this season was 22.5 sacks, first set by the New York Giants' Michael Strahan in 2001 and later tied by the Pittsburgh Steelers' T.J. Watt in 2021.

          In the same video, Rodgers said he considered Allen the "all-time single season sack leader."

          "I don't care what the numbers say," Rodgers added, "because that phantom bulls--- sack they took away from you would give you the record. So in my book, and probably in most Vikings fans books, you are the all-time single-season sack leader, my friend."