A gifted playmaker with statistics to bear it out, Dunlap enters 2020 poised to take over as the Bengals' career leader in sacks ... Begins the season ranked second in sacks (81.5), behind DE Eddie Edwards (83.5) ... Recorded a team-high nine sacks in 2019, marking the fifth time in his 10 seasons he's finished with at least a share of the team's sack lead (2011, '13 [tie], '14, '15, '19) ... Bengals are 12-6 when Dunlap records more than one sack in a game, including 9-1 since the beginning of '15 season ... Known for batting passes at the line, his 38 PDs between 2016-19 were the most in the NFL among non-defensive backs ... Finished second on team in PDs (eight) in 2019 ... In 2016, became the first Bengals defensive lineman to ever lead the team in PDs (15) ... His career-best 13.5 sacks in 2015 were second-most in a season in team history, behind DE Coy Bacon's 22.0 in 1976 ... Career totals of 18 FFs, eight FRs, 56 PDs, four blocked FGs and three TDs scored ... Was Bengals' nominee for NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in both 2015 and '18.
Career transactions: Selected by Cincinnati in second round of 2010 NFL Draft (54th overall) ... Signed with Bengals on 7-28-10 ... Signed contract extension with Bengals on 7-16-13 ... Signed contract extension with Bengals on 8-28-18.
2019 highlights: Played and started 14 games ... Inactive Games 6-7 due to knee injury, ending streak of 115 consecutive games played dating back to 2012 ... Totaled 63 tackles, nine sacks (led team), eight PDs (second on team) and two FFs ... Was twice named AFC Defensive Player of the Week ... Recorded 10 tackles in season-opener at Seattle, including a 10-yard sack of QB Russell Wilson that forced a third and 17, which then resulted in a punt ... Notched seven tackles, including a four-yard TFL of RB Matt Breida in Game 2 vs. San Francisco ... Named AFC Defensive Player of the Week (Week 13) for performance in Game 12 vs. the N.Y. Jets, when he tied career-high with three sacks (each of QB Sam Darnold), including two on third downs that forced punts, and also three additional QB hits and a PD on third down that forced a Jets punt; part of defensive effort that held the Jets, who entered the contest having scored 34 points in each of their three previous games, to just six points ... Recorded six tackles in Game 14 against New England ... Won AFC Defensive Player of the Week (Week 17) for performance in season finale vs. Cleveland, after recording 2.5 sacks of QB Baker Mayfield, a forced fumble, a PD and an additional QB hit; also part of defensive effort that held Browns RB Nick Chubb, who entered the game as the NFL's leading rusher (5.0 yards per carry, 99.6 yards per game), to just a 3.2-yard average and 41 total rushing yards.
Previous seasons: 2010—A Pro Football Weekly all-rookie team selection, Dunlap contested Detroit DT Ndamukong Suh for the league's rookie sacks title, posting Bengals rookie record of 9.5 ... Lost the rookie crown when Suh went to 10 with a zero-yard sack late in fourth quarter in Week 17 ... Dunlap eclipsed former Bengals rookie sack record of 8.5, set by DE Justin Smith in 2001 ... All of Dunlap's sacks came in last eight games, including 8.5 in last six games ... Became first rookie to lead team in sacks for season since 1990, when LB James Francis led with eight ... On Nov. 14 at Indianapolis, brought down Peyton Manning for first career sack. 2011—His sack total dipped to 4.5, from 9.5 as a rookie, but despite missing four games he still led team in QB pressures (27) and had an impressive fumble return for key TD ... Missed Games 9 and 11-13 due to hamstring injury ... On Oct. 16 vs. Indianapolis, with Colts looking to erase a 20-17 Bengals lead in the fourth quarter, Dunlap scooped a Pierre Garcon fumble at the Colts 35 and ran for a game-clinching TD ... On Nov. 6 at Tennessee, had two sacks of Matt Hasselbeck, for 22 yards. 2012—Began action in Game 3, after missing time in rehab from a preseason knee injury ... Named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance Dec. 2 at San Diego, when he FFs on each of his two sacks, recovering one late in the game to help preserve win ... Had a 14-yard INT return for a TD to seal Dec. 30 win vs. Baltimore ... Tied for team lead in both FFs (four) and FRs (three) ... His seven combined fumbles forced and recovered led the team by three ... Had 27 QB pressures (second on team) and five TFLs ... On Sept. 23 at Washington, set up Bengals TD when he forced a fumble by Robert Griffin III and recovered it at Washington 12 ... Four tackles in Wild Card playoff at Houston. 2013—Played in all 16 games for first time in career, with 15 starts at LDE, and made first postseason start ... Logged 70 tackles, with 7.5 sacks (tied for team lead) ... His 10 PDs led D-line ... Led team in FFs (four) and QB pressures (34), and tied for second with seven TFLs ... On Sept. 29 at Cleveland, deflected 51-yard Billy Cundiff FG try ... Provided major momentum shift in win Oct. 20 at Detroit, blocking 34-yard David Akers FG attempt late in second quarter to prevent Lions from making a third straight unanswered score, and offense responded with TD for 14-10 lead ... On Oct. 31 at Miami, ran down RB Lamar Miller after 41-yard gain to Bengals 11, forcing fumble that Cincinnati's Adam Jones recovered in end zone and returned 43 yards ... On Nov. 10 at Baltimore, had sacks of nine and eight yards against Joe Flacco ... On Dec. 22 vs. Minnesota, returned a Matt Cassel fumble 42 yards to Vikings four in first quarter, setting up a TD. 2014—Started at LDE in Games 1-16 and in Wild Card playoff ... Led team in sacks (eight), TFLs (17), QB hits (27), FFs (two) and combined fumbles forced-and-recovered (three) ... Led D-line in tackles (66), a personal career first, and also led D-line in PDs (five) ... Had 10-yard sack of Matt Ryan on Sept. 14 vs. Atlanta, and credited with four total QB hits ... In shutout win Dec. 14 at Cleveland, tied for team lead with six tackles (two TFLs), including a seven-yard sack of Johnny Manziel ... Led line with four tackles (one TFL), including a five-yard sack of Peyton Manning, in playoff-clinching win Dec. 22 vs. Denver ... Two tackles and three QB hits in Wild Card playoff on 1-5-15 at Indianapolis. 2015—Started at LDE in Games 1-16 and Wild Card playoff ... Led D-line in tackles (55) in regular season ... Led team in QB hits (31), ranked second in total TFLs (16), and had two blocked FGs ... Tied with 49ers' Quinton Dial for most blocked FGs in NFL ... His three sacks of Brock Osweiler on Dec. 28 at Denver were most by Bengal since LB Vincent Rey had three on 11-10-13 at Baltimore ... On Oct. 11 vs. Seattle, spurred comeback win by forcing Seahawk punts with a fourth-quarter solo sack of Russell Wilson and an overtime shared sack ... Totaled six QB hits vs. Seattle, the team season-high ... On Oct. 18 at Buffalo, had 1.5 sacks of E.J. Manuel ... On Nov. 5 vs. Cleveland, had two sacks of Johnny Manziel in fourth quarter, for 16 combined yards ... On Dec. 6 at Cleveland, logged a five-yard sack of Austin Davis, an eight-yard TFL, a FF (Bengals recovered) and a blocked a 47-yard FG attempt ... On Dec. 20 at San Francisco, earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award for a blocked FG that ended 49ers' last hope for a win ... In Wild Card playoff vs. Pittsburgh, his three tackles included a shared sack, and he had a PD and one additional QB hit. 2016—Started at LDE in Games 1-16 ... Led D-line in tackles (49) ... Led team with 15 PDs; no defensive lineman had ever led the Bengals in PDs for a season previously ... His 15 PDs were five more than the second-place Bengal (CB Dre Kirkpatrick, 10), and he had seven more PDs than any other NFL defensive lineman ... The NFL players with more PDs than Dunlap's 15 were all cornerbacks; Dunlap's total was nine short of the league lead but only five short of third place ... On Sept. 29 vs. Miami, recorded two sacks, including one on which he forced a Ryan Tannehill fumble that Bengals recovered ... Also vs. Miami, deflected two Tannehill passes and totaled five tackles ... Had a sack-and-strip for the second straight game Oct. 9 at Dallas, forcing a Dak Prescott fumble that Bengals returned to their 41 in third quarter, and finished game with three total QB hits ... Deflected a Kevin Hogan pass that LB Vincent Rey intercepted on Oct. 23 vs. Cleveland, and also had a six-yard sack of Hogan plus two additional QB hits ... Two PDs Nov. 27 at Baltimore, including one deflection that LB Rey Maualuga intercepted, and also had a 10-yard third-down sack of Joe Flacco deep in Bengals territory, forcing Ravens to settle for FG ... Four PDs on Dec. 4 vs. Philadelphia (tied team high for the season), including one that LB Vontaze Burfict intercepted to stop a scoring threat ... Also vs. Philadelphia, had a shared sack, another QB hit and four tackles ... Forced a fumble by C.J. Fiedorowicz on Dec. 24 at Houston, running down the WR after a 12-yard completion, but Texans recovered ... One-yard sack of Joe Flacco on Jan. 1 vs. Baltimore. 2017—Started all 16 games at LDE ... Finished second among defensive linemen in tackles (46), including 7.5 sacks and a team-leading 12 TFLs ... Added one INT, one FF, and seven PDs ... His sack and PD totals each ranked third on team ... Midway through the fourth quarter on Oct. 29 vs. Indianapolis, deflected and intercepted a pass by Colts QB Jacoby Brissett and returned it for a 16-yard TD and the final points in the Bengals' 24-23 victory; earned NFL's AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance vs. the Colts ... On Nov. 19 at Denver, recorded two sacks of Broncos QB Brock Osweiler, including one in final two minutes with Denver trailing by three points ... Sacked Ravens QB Joe Flacco on Dec. 31 in final minute with Bengals holding a one-score lead ... On Dec. 24 vs. Detroit, sacked Lions QB Matthew Stafford on third down to help end Lions' final drive. 2018—Started all 16 games at LDE ... Second on team with eight sacks, and tied for second with eight TFLs ... Had eight PDs, which ranked fourth on the team behind three defensive backs ... Led Bengals' defensive line with 47 tackles, and added two FFs, and one FR ... On Sept. 9 at Indianapolis, his eight-yard sack of Colts QB Andrew Luck helped push FG attempt back to 55 yards, and the kick fell just feet short, giving Bengals good field position and setting up go-ahead TD drive ... On Sept. 13 vs. Baltimore, he hit QB Joe Flacco's arm as he attempted a pass, causing an INT on a deep throw ... On Oct. 7 vs. Miami, strip-sacked Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill late in the fourth quarter, resulting in a fumble return for a TD by Bengals DE Sam Hubbard that put Bengals ahead 10 points with 2:37 remaining ... On Oct. 28 vs. Tampa Bay recorded two sacks of Buccaneers' QB Jameis Winston ... On Dec. 9 at L.A. Chargers, sacked QB Philip Rivers on third-and-one deep in Chargers territory, forcing a punt and giving the Bengals good field position to set up a TD drive ... Was Bengals' nominee for the 2018 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award.
Pro Bowl participation: Has been named to and played in two games ... Starter for victorious AFC in 2016 season game at Orlando ... In 2015 season game at Honolulu, had one tackle and one PD, playing for victorious Team Irvin.
College: Played three seasons (2007-09) at Florida, with totals of 84 tackles, 19.5 sacks, 26 TFLs, eight PDs and four blocked kicks ... Entered NFL Draft following his junior season ... Named Defensive MVP of 2008 season BCS national championship win over Oklahoma ... Helped Gators to 13-1 records in each of his last two seasons, including 51-24 Sugar Bowl victory over University of Cincinnati to close 2009 campaign.
Personal: Hometown is North Charleston, S.C. ... Attended Fort Dorchester High School, and closed career ranked 15th on ESPN's Top 150 recruits list ... Has earned bachelor's degree in business administration from Florida and master's degree in business administration from Miami (Fla.) ... SEC Academic All-American in 2008 ... Selected to SEC Academic Honor Roll as freshman ... Actively supports children in need in both South Carolina and Greater Cincinnati, through Carlos Dunlap Foundation, with events including an annual football camp, holiday shopping trips and school supplies giveaways at the beginning of school year ... Enjoys traveling and jet skiing ... Was named 'Mayor for a Day' in North Charleston on 3-13-09 ... Lists parents, Diane Ross and Carlos L. Dunlap Sr., as greatest source of inspiration ... Was Bengals' team nominee for NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in both 2015 and '18.
