Mario Addison tied for the team lead in sacks in 2017 with 11 – but ask most folks who led the team last season and they’ll say the future Hall of Famer he was tied with.
Addison has 26.5 sacks over the last 31 games, good for third-most in the NFL over that span and 18 games with at least one sack since the start of 2016 – but he hasn’t made a Pro Bowl in his career.
Even on a day when the Panthers hit Ryan Fitzpatrick 11 times and limited the #1 passing offense to 219 net passing yards, it will be Christian McCaffrey’s leap or Curtis Samuel’s two touchdowns that will likely grab the headlines tomorrow. Addison is quietly leading the team in sacks again with 7.5, including a career-best three today and a forced fumble – but he’s not here for the accolades.
“That’s my job,” said Addison, who spent times on two teams’ practice squads before coming to the Panthers, earning his keep on special teams before graduating to playing time on defense, eventually signing a three-year, $22.5m contract ahead of last season. “They pay me to rush the quarterback and some games, you’re not as successful as others, but the Lord blessed me to get three [today]. I’m very grateful.”
“When Mario came in, he was a special teams guy that had a great motor and he worked his butt off to get where he is now,” said Luke Kuechly. “That’s what’s cool about this league – you work hard, you bust your tail and you can put yourself in a position to be a really good player, and Mario has done that.”
“It’s kind of one of those situations where you bring young guys in and you point to Mario as an example of a guy who’s done everything the right way and been rewarded for it.”
Rivera says that Addison’s explosion off the edge is what makes the 31-year old so impactful.
What turned FitzMagic into FitzTragic, according to Rivera, was the amount of pressure on him – while it’s always a team effort, Addison managed two sacks in three plays during the second quarter, the final one a crushing blow to Fitzpatrick that left the Buccaneers punting from their own end zone; it’s not only the sacks that show up on the stat sheet that make a difference – Donte Jackson says he credits every one of his league-leading four interceptions to either a hand in the face or a quarterback hurry or just overall pressure on the quarterback – just because the Panthers aren’t picking up sack numbers doesn’t mean they’re not pressuring the quarterback.
But on this day, Addison was able to get to Fitzpatrick for three sacks, which allowed him to pass Kevin Greene for fourth-most in Panthers franchise history; although he’s not even willing to take credit for two out of the three.
“I didn’t do it by myself,” said Addison sheepishly. “Two of the sacks came from other guys.”
Of course.
