When Aldon Smith played his first game in the month of November, he was having a nice season. At that point, he had 7 1/2 sacks, which put him behind the likes of J.J. Watt, Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware and Cameron Wake in the NFL sack race.
The month ends on Friday with Smith having 16 ½ sacks, sitting alone on first place in the sack race with and him having a fantastic year, one worthy of defensive player of the year.
The league acknowledged that today by making Smith the Defensive Player of the Month for November. The month included the 49ers' bye week (Nov. 4), but Smith went on such a tear the next three weeks that he was the obvious choice. It's also worth noting that Smith has been dealing with a shoulder injury this month and is on the 49ers' injury report. He was listed as "limited" on Wednesday.
Nov. 11, vs. St. Louis: 2 sacks, 6 tackles
Nov. 19, vs. Chicago: 5 ½ sacks, 7 tackles, 2 force fumbles
Nov. 25, at New Orleans: 1 ½ sacks, 5 tackles
Sack Leaders
1. Aldon Smith, 16.5
2. J.J. Watt, 14.5
3. Von Miller, 14.0
4. DeMarcus Ware, 10.0
5. Cameron Wake, 9.5
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