T.J. Watt is really good at football. While he’s an elite pass rusher, he showed off his coverage ability with an interception against the Los Angeles Rams that sparked Pittsburgh’s comeback in its 24-17 win in Week Seven.
That interception was the seventh of Watt’s career, and it made him the fourth player in NFL history to register 85.0-plus sacks, 25-plus forced fumbles, and at least seven interceptions, and the first to do it within his first 100 games. Michael Bertsch of the Steelers PR Department passed along the stat, and Watt accomplished the feat in 30 games faster than Julius Peppers, who before Watt was the fastest at 123 games.
The only two seasons of Watt’s career where he didn’t get an interception were 2018 and his Defensive Player of the Year season in 2021, when he had 22.5 sacks. Watt had two interceptions last year, and with 11 games remaining, it really wouldn’t be a surprise to see him nab another this season. Watt also has eight sacks already this season and could break the 22.5-sack single-season record he hit in 2021, tying Michael Strahan.
How quickly Watt was able to accomplish this feat is what’s so crazy. Peppers, Terrell Suggs, and Jason Taylor are all extremely talented, Hall-of-Fame-caliber players (Taylor is in, Peppers is eligible in 2024 and Suggs is eligible in 2025), and Watt is well on his way to finding himself in Canton. But he’s still just 29 years old, and he’s got a lot of football ahead of him. He’s one of the best players in the league, one of the few who’s a true game-changer. Despite being an outside linebacker, Watt can single-handedly change a game, as he did with his interception against the Rams yesterday.
Watt broke the Steelers’ career sack record earlier this season, and he’s only built on that as his eight sacks are tied with the Minnesota Vikings’ Danielle Hunter for most in the NFL this season. He’s also a maestro when it comes to forcing turnovers. He’s forced at least one fumble in every season of his career and had a career-high eight forced fumbles in 2019, which also led the league. He already has two forced fumbles this season, and I’m sure there are going to be more as the season progresses.
Watt is a special talent, and it’s a joy to watch him play and dominate each week. He’s in store for another special season, and that can continue next week as the Steelers look to beat the 5-2 Jacksonville Jaguars as they return to Acrisure Stadium in Week Eight.
