T.J. Watt sets Steelers career sacks record with takedown of Browns’ Deshaun Watson
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There’s a new king of “Blitzburgh.”
T.J. Watt took over sole possession of the career Pittsburgh Steelers sacks record with a second-quarter takedown of the Cleveland Browns’ Deshaun Watson on Monday night.
Watt chased down Watson for a 7-yard loss on a third-and-7 play with 1 minute, 3 seconds left in the first half. The play pushed the Browns back to the Steelers’ 37-yard line, but Dustin Hopkins made a 55-yard field goal on the next play to pull Cleveland within 16-14 at halftime.
TRENT JORDAN WATT ????@_TJWatt | ????: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/T87FSnfvVk pic.twitter.com/XEAn15P43m
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 19, 2023
Watt’s sack gave him 81 ½ in his career, breaking a tie with James Harrison for the most in Steelers history. Although sacks were not an official NFL statistic until 1982, a historical analysis by pro-football-reference.com concluded the Steelers’ leader in the pre-1982 era, L.C. Greenwood, had 78 career sacks.
Watt had three sacks in the season opener last week against the San Francisco 49ers. The first-half sack Monday gave him 56 in 47 career home games and 16 in 11 career games against the Browns.
It also capped a first half in which Watt was a force. Aside from the sack, Watt had two other tackles, two other QB hits, a batted-down pass and a tackle for loss in the run game.
Watt, who turns 29 next month, has played 89 career games in seven NFL seasons. Harrison played 177 games for the Steelers over 14 seasons. Watt’s teammate, Cameron Heyward, entered this season ahead of Watt with 78 ½ career sacks. But Heyward suffered a groin injury during the Week 1 loss to the 49ers.
Watt has the second-most sacks over his first 89 games of any player in NFL history.
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