T.J. Watt Admits He Checked Phone at Halftime for Update on Sack Record

Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt tied Michael Strahan for the most sacks in a single season in the team’s regular season finale agains the Baltimore Ravens on Jan. 9.

While Watt knew he needed to reach 22.5 sacks to tie the mark set by Strahan in 2001, he may have violated an NFL rule in the process.

Joining The Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday, Watt admitted that he checked his phone in the locker room at halftime to determine if he’d broken the record or not.

When asked how he’d learned he only tied history, Watt spilled the beans.

“Halftime, I thought I had two, but I checked my phone, because our d-line coach was like ‘they’re giving it to you, they’re giving it to you, you have it,’” Watt said. “And then a couple of guys are like ‘no, you’re not.’ So I checked my phone at halftime, which I never do, and then J.J., my brother, it’s a group chat, was like ‘they only gave you one man. You got to go get another one.’”

Watt added that he tried like hell to get one in the second half, but saw limited opportunities with the Ravens’ run-heavy attack.

The play in question was ruled aborted by the league’s official scoring, even though it appeared Watt recoded a strip sack of Baltimore quarterback Tyler Huntley.

Pittsburgh’s season ended last Sunday at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs, but that likely will not stop the league from issuing at least some form of discipline Watt’s way.