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INDFREENEY93

Dwight Freeney

Retired

Detroit Lions · DE

Dwight Freeney recorded 183 indexed regular-season NFL appearances across 16 rostered seasons with Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks, Atlanta Falcons, ARZ, Arizona Cardinals, San Diego Chargers, Indianapolis Colts.

▶Best highlights

1.7

tackles/gm

19

playoff games

16

indexed seasons

183

career games

Five defining games

Start here

A researched consensus introduction to Dwight Freeney's defining games.

Editorial methodology and sources

Cross-checked Pro Football Hall of Fame: Dwight Freeney, postseason and milestone context, and verified Athlore box scores. This frozen editorial order balances the highest-leverage indexed appearances with statistical peaks that represent Dwight Freeney's career; no ranking formula runs in the application.

  1. #1. In the Super Bowl against New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons, Dwight Freeney recorded 1 tackles, 1 sacks in the leading indexed performance of this editorial five. Pro Football Hall of Fame: Dwight Freeney
  2. #2. In the Super Bowl against New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts, Dwight Freeney recorded 1 tackles, 1 sacks in a performance that preserves an essential part of the career record. Pro Football Hall of Fame: Dwight Freeney
  3. #3. In the Wild Card Round against Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts, Dwight Freeney recorded 3 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumbles in a performance that preserves an essential part of the career record. Pro Football Hall of Fame: Dwight Freeney
  4. #4. Against Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts, Dwight Freeney recorded 4 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 forced fumbles in a performance that preserves an essential part of the career record. Pro Football Hall of Fame: Dwight Freeney
  5. #5. Against Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins, Dwight Freeney recorded 5 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles in a performance that preserves an essential part of the career record. Pro Football Hall of Fame: Dwight Freeney

Reviewed through 2026-08-11

Super Bowl
LI
NEW ENGLANDPATRIOTS
ATLANTAFALCONS
FEB 5, 2017

New England Patriots vs Atlanta Falcons

Super Bowl LI · Feb 5, 2017

1 tackles · 1 sacks · 0 INT

Super Bowl
XLIV
NEW ORLEANSSAINTS
INDIANAPOLISCOLTS
FEB 7, 2010

New Orleans Saints vs Indianapolis Colts

Super Bowl XLIV · Feb 7, 2010

1 tackles · 1 sacks · 0 INT

Wild Card
2006
KANSAS CITYCHIEFS
INDIANAPOLISCOLTS
JAN 6, 2007

Kansas City Chiefs vs Indianapolis Colts

Wild Card · Jan 6, 2007

3 tackles · 2 sacks · 0 INT

Regular Season
2006
CINCINNATIBENGALS
INDIANAPOLISCOLTS
DEC 18, 2006

Cincinnati Bengals vs Indianapolis Colts

Regular Season · Dec 18, 2006

4 tackles · 3 sacks · 0 INT

Regular Season
2003
INDIANAPOLISCOLTS
MIAMIDOLPHINS
NOV 2, 2003

Indianapolis Colts vs Miami Dolphins

Regular Season · Nov 2, 2003

5 tackles · 3 sacks · 0 INT

Single-game peaks

Career highs

Position-relevant single-game records from Dwight Freeney's indexed NFL box scores.

Career highs: 7 total tackles · 5 tackles for loss

Regular Season
2002
INDIANAPOLISCOLTS
CLEVELANDBROWNS
DEC 15, 2002

Indianapolis Colts vs Cleveland Browns

Regular Season · Dec 15, 2002

7 tackles · 2 sacks · 0 INT

Career high: 3 sacks

Regular Season
2015
GREEN BAYPACKERS
ARIZONACARDINALS
DEC 27, 2015

Green Bay Packers vs Arizona Cardinals

Regular Season · Dec 27, 2015

3 tackles · 3 sacks · 0 INT

Career high: 4 quarterback hits

Regular Season
2011
KANSAS CITYCHIEFS
INDIANAPOLISCOLTS
OCT 9, 2011

Kansas City Chiefs vs Indianapolis Colts

Regular Season · Oct 9, 2011

4 tackles · 1.5 sacks · 0 INT

Career high: 3 forced fumbles

Regular Season
2006
CINCINNATIBENGALS
INDIANAPOLISCOLTS
DEC 18, 2006

Cincinnati Bengals vs Indianapolis Colts

Regular Season · Dec 18, 2006

4 tackles · 3 sacks · 0 INT

Career chapters

Franchise eras

Follow the team eras that shaped Dwight Freeney's career, in chronological order.

Earliest → latest

Franchise era

1998–2011

01
INDFREENEY93Dwight Freeney
INDMANNING18Peyton Manning
INDHARRISON88Marvin Harrison

Pre-snap command creates a perennial contender

Indianapolis Colts · The Peyton Manning machine

Manning and a precisely constructed offense won at least twelve games seven straight times and captured Super Bowl XLI after a defining comeback against New England.

Read the era story →

Franchise era

2012–2018

02
INDFREENEY93Dwight Freeney
INDLUCK12Andrew Luck
INDHILTON13T.Y. Hilton

A generational successor carries immediate turnarounds

Indianapolis Colts · Andrew Luck's brilliant sprint

Luck reached the playoffs in each of his first three seasons and authored a massive comeback, but accumulated injuries led to his sudden retirement.

Read the era story →

Franchise era

2010–2016

03
LACFREENEY93Dwight Freeney
LACRIVERS17Philip Rivers
LACWEDDLE32Eric Weddle

Rivers keeps a changing roster competitive

Los Angeles Chargers · The final San Diego seasons

Rivers remained prolific as the roster turned over and the franchise prepared to leave the city that had housed it for 56 years.

Read the era story →

Franchise era

2013–2017

04
ARIFREENEY93Dwight Freeney
ARIPALMER3Carson Palmer
ARIFITZGERALD11Larry Fitzgerald

Aggressive offense meets an elite secondary

Arizona Cardinals · The Arians contender

Bruce Arians unlocked Palmer's best late-career football and built a 13-win team that reached the 2015 NFC Championship Game.

Read the era story →

Franchise era

2015–2020

05
ATLFREENEY93Dwight Freeney
ATLRYAN2Matt Ryan
ATLJONES11Julio Jones

A historic offense reaches the brink

Atlanta Falcons · The explosive Super Bowl team

Ryan won MVP in Kyle Shanahan's offense and Atlanta built a 28–3 lead in Super Bowl LI before New England completed the defining comeback.

Read the era story →

Franchise era

2009–2020

06
DETFREENEY93Dwight Freeney
DETSTAFFORD9Matthew Stafford
DETJOHNSON81Calvin Johnson

Spectacular talent fights organizational instability

Detroit Lions · Stafford and Calvin

Stafford and Johnson powered explosive offenses and three playoff trips, but Detroit could not turn their peak into a postseason victory.

Read the era story →

Franchise era

2017–2021

07
SEAFREENEY93Dwight Freeney
SEAWILSON3Russell Wilson
SEAWAGNER54Bobby Wagner

The defense changes while the winning continues

Seattle Seahawks · Wilson carries the transition

The Legion dispersed, but Wilson's deep passing and Wagner's consistency kept Seattle in the playoffs until the partnership reached its limit.

Read the era story →

Career accomplishments

Pro Bowl selection · 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011First-team All-Pro · 2004, 2005, 2009Super Bowl champion · 2006NFL sacks leader · 200416 NFL seasons183 career games255 career solo tackles125 career sacksCollege: SyracuseDrafted by: INDDraft pick: 11Jersey: 9319 playoff appearances3 Super Bowl appearancesFirst appearance: Sep 15, 2002Most recent: Nov 9, 2017

Official awards via ESPN · Pro Bowl and All-Pro counts via NFLverse with selection years cross-checked against Wikipedia · league leads verified from indexed regular-season stats

Team history