The quarterback sack is one of the most exciting plays in football, and it can often make or break the outcome of a drive.

Because it is such an important piece of the puzzle for SEC programs, we are tracking how each team is performing throughout the season.

We will take a look at both how good each team’s defense is at creating sacks, as well as how well each offensive line is at preventing them.

We’ll also take a look at some of the league’s top producers of sacks and tackles for loss.

Here is how things stack up after Week 13:

SACKS: RANKING EACH SEC DEFENSE

Is it a coincidence that the teams that will meet in this week’s SEC Championship are the two atop this list? Probably not. Getting to the opposing quarterback with strong defensive line play has long been an important ingredient to championship-level football, and both the Gators and Crimson Tide have done it well this season.

Texas A&M and Missouri are living up to their billing of having talented defensive fronts by running away from the pack in the tackles for loss category.

TEAM SACKS YARDS TFL
1. Alabama 41 257  86
2. Florida 38 277  91
3. Texas A&M 33 190  103
4. LSU 28 193  66
5. Missouri 27 171  106
T6. Ole Miss 26 171  93
T6. Vanderbilt 26 156  80
T6. Tennessee 26 148  67
9. Mississippi State 25 182  92
10. Georgia 21 121  71
11. South Carolina 20 137  64
12. Arkansas 18 111  65
T13. Auburn 17 122  49
T13. Kentucky 17 110  53

SACKED: ANALYZING HOW WELL EACH TEAM AVOIDS THE SACK

Arkansas rounded out a strong regular season from a veteran offensive line by averaging exactly one sack per game. Having an experienced senior quarterback back there probably aided that number as well.

Georgia led the league with only 41 tackles for loss allowed, which was 16 fewer than the nearest competitor, and exactly half of the amount that Florida allowed.

Here are the rankings for sacks and tackles for loss allowed:

TEAM  ALLOWED YARDS TFL
1. Arkansas 12 83 57
2. Georgia 13 87 41
T3. LSU 17 119 64
T3. Alabama 17 128 77
T3. Ole Miss 17 131 66
6. Auburn 19 141 61
7. Tennessee 21 156 86
8. South Carolina 26 169 69
9. Vanderbilt 28 178 70
T10. Missouri 30 176 88
T10. Kentucky 30 191 84
12. Mississippi State 31 191 68
13. Texas A&M 32 211 69
14. Florida 37 208 82

TOP INDIVIDUAL PERFORMERS

Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett cushioned his lead with a sack against LSU. Tennessee’s Derek Barnett was the big gainer for the week, registering two sacks against Vanderbilt and moving into a tie for third in the league. Missouri’s Charles Harris and Walter Brady disappeared from the leaderboard after spending most of the season in the Top 5.

NAME TEAM POS. SACKS
1. Myles Garrett Texas A&M DL 11.5
2. Marquis Haynes Ole Miss DL 9.5
T3. Jonathan Allen Alabama DL 9.0
T3. Derek Barnett Tennessee DL 9.0
T5. Lewis Neal LSU DL 8.0

Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett recorded 1.5 tackles for loss against LSU, pulling him even with Missouri’s Charles Harris, who went without a tackle for loss this week. Ole Miss’ Marquis Haynes jumped into fifth place in Week 13, replacing Mississippi State’s A.J. Jefferson on the list.

NAME TEAM POSITION TFL
T1. Charles Harris Missouri DL 18.5
T1. Myles Garrett Texas A&M DL 18.5
3. Zach Cunningham Vanderbilt LB 16.5
4. Jonathan Bullard Florida DL 15.5
5. Marquis Haynes Ole Miss DL 14.0