In football, tackling the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage before he can throw a forward pass.
Originally meant 'to put into a bag' or 'to capture.' In football slang from the 1960s, it meant 'to bag' the quarterback, emphasizing the capture and containment aspect.
The term 'sack' perfectly captures football's hunting mentality - pass rushers literally stalk quarterbacks like predators, and legends like Lawrence Taylor turned quarterback hunting into an art form that changed how offenses protect their most valuable player!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.