 In the regular season finale of 2001 , Favre was the target of minor controversy when , in a game against the New York Giants at Giants Stadium , he was sacked by the Giants defensive end Michael Strahan . It was Strahan 's lone sack of the game and gave him the NFL 's single – season sack record of 22 @.@ 5 , which topped Mark Gastineau 's record of 22 set in 1984 . The controversy has followed Strahan continuously since he set the record . Jim Fassel , Strahan 's coach in 2001 , said that when a respected athlete like Strahan gets close to an all @-@ time record , sometimes opponents want him to break it . 
