T.J. Watt said years ago he stopped caring about individual milestones. But he’s about to reach a doozy of one this season. Entering 2023, he sits just 3.5 sacks shy from breaking James Harrison’s all-time Pittsburgh Steelers’ sack record, Harrison at 80.5, Watt at 77.5. Watt says he only cares about winning, though the more sacks he racks up, the more the Steelers win.
Appearing on NFL Network yesterday, Watt was asked if the pending record has his attention.
“If it happens Week One, it happens,” he told NFLN. “If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. That’s the cool thing about this part of my career. Just going out there and working as hard as I possibly can during the week. And letting the tape, the game take care of itself. I’m no longer chasing certain numbers per season, per game. I’m just trying to help my team out win in the moment.”
Entering just his seventh season, Watt is already close to the record. Had he not gotten hurt last year, he would’ve set the mark but barring another long-term injury in 2023, he’ll close out the year in first place.
The twist on the record is he might not be the first active Steeler to break Harrison’s mark. Cam Heyward currently sits second in team history with 78.5 sacks, one more than Watt, and it’ll be a fun race to see who is the first to the record. Long-term, Watt will own it, but Heyward could become the franchise sack leader for a game or two.
There’s a decent chance Watt sets the mark this weekend. After losing stud right tackle Mike McGlinchey to free agency, the San Francisco 49ers are starting former fifth-round pick Colton McKivitz in his place this weekend. The West Virginia product has just five career starts and played under 100 snaps each of the last two seasons, making this a potentially tasty matchup for Watt. He’s no stranger to big debuts, either. Last year, he he dominated the Cincinnati Bengals before getting hurt, finishing the game with three tackles for a loss, an interception, and a sack. In 2021, he registered two sacks against Buffalo, despite missing most of the summer until he received a new contract.
If Watt can record at least two sacks, history says the Steelers win. Since being drafted in 2017, when Watt has two or more of them, Pittsburgh is an incredible 14-1-1. The only loss came in 2021 to Green Bay while the tie happened in 2018 against Cleveland.
