of 30–20. Peppers finished the season with 25 solo tackles, 12 assisted tackles, 10.5 sacks, and 2 stuffs. He was also selected to his ninth career Pro Bowl. Peppers helped the Packers reach the playoffs and win their wild card round playoff game against the Washington Redskins by a score of 35–18, he had several quarterback pressures and 2 tackles in the game. In the next round against the Arizona Cardinals, Peppers would record several more quarterback pressures and a sack, but the Packers would go on to lose the game in overtime 26–20. 2016 season Before the season started, the top three living NFL sack leaders of all time, Bruce Smith, Kevin Greene, and Chris Doleman all said that Julius Peppers should be a Hall of Famer once he retires. In Week 13, Peppers sacked Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler, moving into the top five on the NFL's all-time sack list with 142.5, passing former New York Giants Hall of Fame Defensive End Michael Strahan for fifth place. Peppers finished the game with 5 tackles and 1 sack, helping the Packers defeat the Texans by a score of 21–13. In Week 15 against his former team the Chicago Bears, Peppers recorded 4 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery on the first play of the second half to help the Packers win by a score of 30–27. Peppers finished the season with 15 solo tackles, 8 assisted tackles, 7.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 3 passes defensed, and 1 stuff. In the NFC wild card playoff round against the New York Giants, Peppers sacked Giants quarterback Eli Manning in the first half on a third down play to force a Giants punt. Peppers also ended another Giants drive on third down when he batted a pass that was nearly intercepted, and another on a later play by hitting Eli Manning just as he released the pass, causing an incompletion. Peppers finished the game with 3 tackles, 1 sack, 2 quarterback hits, and 2 passes defended helping the Packers beat the Giants by a score of 38–13 and advance to the divisional playoff round against the Dallas Cowboys. Peppers helped beat the Cowboys the following week 34–31, but the Packers lost a week later to the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC championship game 44–21. Carolina Panthers (second stint) 2017 season On March 10, 2017, Peppers signed