Terrorizing quarterbacks since 2017, T.J. Watt has blazed to another pass-rushing pinnacle.
The Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker hit the 100-sack plateau in Sunday night's loss with a takedown of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. Watt converged on Prescott in the second quarter with Nick Herbig, earning half a sack to bring him to 100 on the nose.
Watt lost his helmet and forced Prescott to lose the ball in the process, causing a fumble that was recovered by Herbig.
Unfortunately, Watt's moment came in defeat, which loomed larger to him than the landmark.
"Like I said all along, especially this year, it’s not about individual accolades, it’s all about wanting to win," he said. "Tonight, we didn’t do enough to get it done."
Watt, playing in his 109th career game, is the second-fastest player in NFL history to reach the milestone, surpassing Hall of Famer DeMarcus Ware, who hit 100 in 113 contests. Hall of Famer Reggie White was the fastest to 100, doing so in just 96 games.
The six-time Pro Bowler finished the night with 1.5 sacks, running his career total to 101.
Watt, the 2021 AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year, entered Sunday with 99.5 career sacks.
The 29-year-old is quite clearly on a Hall of Fame trajectory and is amid one of his finest seasons to date, having dominated each week so far. Watt has 4.5 sacks on the year so far, good for ninth in the NFL.
Adding to history was that Watt and retired brother J.J. Watt are now the only siblings in NFL chronicle with 100 sacks apiece.
T.J. could conceivably catch his brother J.J. this year on the all-time sack list. J.J. finished his career with 114.5 sacks, which is 24th all time.
A three-time single-season sack champion, T.J. Watt’s 22.5 sacks in 2021 are tied for the most in a single year. Sack milestones are nothing new for Watt and there’s likely to be more reached after Sunday.