T.J. Watt Breaks Steelers All-Time Sack Record
Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro outside linebacker T.J. Watt broke James Harrison’s all-time franchise sack record late in the first half on Monday night against the Cleveland Browns at Acrisure Stadium. Watt now has 81.5 career sacks, doing so in just 89 career games. Harrison broke Jason Gildon’s record (77.0) on Nov. 20, 2016 in a 24-9 win over Cleveland. It was Harrison’s 177th career game.
Watt set the record by beating Browns rookie right tackle Dawand Jones off the edge with a dip move and sacked Deshaun Watson for a 7-yard loss. The sack forced a 55-yard field goal by Dustin Hopkins to cut the Steelers’ lead to 16-14 at halftime.
T.J. WATT IS NOW THE STEELERS ALL-TIME SACK LEADER 🤯
(via @NFL)
pic.twitter.com/SXtIxhwTQl— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 19, 2023
Watt’s brother J.J. https://twitter.com/JJWatt/status/1703952209397051899″>wrote
on X after the franchise record-breaking sack, “TJ WATT is the best defensive player on the planet. Stop trying to question it, stop trying to justify anyone else. He is the best. Period.”
Watt started the season in third place in team history at 77.5. Defensive tackle Cam Heyward was second at 78.5. Heyward left the Week 1 game against the San Francisco 49ers early with a groin injury and was placed on injured reserve earlier this week.
Watt exploded in Week 1 with a three-sack performance along with two forced fumbles, and he recovered the second one, which came on the record-tying sack.
The 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Watt set the NFL single-season sack record with 22.5 that year. He also led the NFL in sacks with 15 in 2020 and led the league in tackles for loss in both 2020 and 2021.
He missed seven games in 2022 after tearing his pectoral muscle in the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. The injury could have been season-ending, but he battled to return, even though he was not his usual self down the stretch run. He finished 2022 with 5.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss in 1o games.
Sacks have only been an official NFL statistic since 1982. Research by Pro Football Reference says that L.C. Greenwood would have had 78 sacks if they were officially counted in his career.
Watt is second to Harrison in career forced fumbles. Harrison finished his Steelers tenure with 33. Watt’s two on Sunday give him 25. His recovery was the eighth of his career, tying him with Harrison for fifth in team history. James Farrior is the all-time leader with 10.
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