Chargers pass rusher Khalil Mack had a career-high six sacks on Sunday, but he acknowledged afterward that it wasn’t all him.
For starters, Mack said, facing Raiders rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell in the first start of his NFL career was a help. Mack said that O’Connell has not yet developed the pocket presence of a seasoned NFL quarterback, and Mack benefited from that.
“We just had time to get there. Everybody on the defense was working together,” Mack said, via the Associated Press. “He was doing a lot of things that was benefiting us while he was moving around in the pocket. I was able to get there.”
The NFL record for sacks in a game is seven, by the late Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas. Mack is now in a tie with four other players for the second-most sacks in a game, and he says it’s an honor that he’ll have his name in the NFL record book.
“It’s a blessing and very humbling. I can’t put it any other way,” Mack said.
It was a historic game for Mack and a rough debut for O’Connell.