When it comes to stats, we can have fun with numbers. Baseball is a particularly egregious offense. This second baseman is slugging .400 when there are two outs on the road against left-handed pitching and when the moon is in a waning crescent. It gets a little obnoxious. Football can be the same, and there’s always a stat to prove whatever point that needs to be made. As Mark Twain once said – people use stats the way drunks use lampposts, for support, not illumination. But when the numbers are neat and tidy, they really pop. And T.J. Watt is about to pop.
You may have seen the stat floating around after Watt’s interception against the Minnesota Vikings. The eighth of his career. No small feat for someone whose job is normally rushing the passer. That made him one of seven players in NFL history to record 100 sacks and eight interceptions. He joined the likes of Lawrence Taylor, Jason Taylor, Chris Doleman, Richard Dent, and Rickey Jackson—all Hall of Famers.
Watt has a chance to do better than the rest of them. The 100 sack/10 interception is an aesthetically pleasing club to be in. Currently, it’s occupied by just one man. Julius Peppers is the only player in history to record 100-plus sacks and 10-plus interceptions. In his own Hall of Fame career, he recorded 159.5 QB takedowns and 11 interceptions.
With two more interceptions, Watt will join him. When that could happen is hard to say. Interceptions aren’t rare, but aren’t common either. He’s never intercepted more than two in a season and has just a pair of multi-pick years. History says he won’t join this club until 2026, at the earliest. However, Watt’s track record strongly suggests that he will record two more interceptions before calling it a career. And he’s long past the 100-sack club, now focusing on climbing the top rungs of the chart to try to end his career in the top ten, five, or heck, even higher.
When Watt notches his ninth interception, the only players in that club will be Peppers, Taylor, and Watt. It’s easy to take Watt’s great play for granted. It’s easy, and we can be quick to predict their downfalls, too. For years, the media mused when Tom Brady would fall off the cliff. The same questions about Watt began to circulate.
Watching a no-doubt, first ballot Hall of Famer like Watt in real time can’t be taken for granted. Even as he hones in on greater postseason success, his accolades and accomplishments are only growing. Before his playing days are over, he’ll join the club with Peppers. Five years after Watt retires, he’ll join the comparatively bigger club in Canton, Ohio.
