NFL Analysis Network

This Stat Shows The Insane Career Steelers’ TJ Watt Has Had

No one expected TJ Watt and the Pittsburgh Steelers to make a run to the postseason in 2021, but they were able to prove everyone wrong. A big reason for the team accomplishing as much as it did was the performance of the defense.

For as much as the offense struggled throughout the season, the defense was dominant. There are high-level players littered across the defense at every level. 

Minkah Fitzpatrick, Terrell Edmunds and Joe Haden lead the defensive backfield. Devin Bush and Alex Highsmith lock down the second level at linebacker. Upfront, Cam Heyward remains an elite defensive lineman that is as distrustful as a run stuffer or pass rusher.

But, the one player that opposing offenses key in on and attempt to stop is pass rusher T.J. Watt. Watt has been one of the most feared pass rushers in the NFL throughout his career since joining the Steelers.

Just how dominant has he been? Watt has 72 sacks to his credit since 2017 when he was selected No. 30 overall out of Wisconsin. That is the most sacks in the league over that span.

The Steelers rewarded Watt with a monster contract extension before the season began. They signed him to a four-year extension reportedly worth $112 million. The deal includes $80 million in guarantees, which some people questioned heading into the season.

Watt quickly put those worries to bed with another monster performance. He tied Michael Strahan’s record of 22.5 sacks in a single season. But, he didn’t even need the extra games, as he recorded those numbers in only 15 games.

There were only four games this season that TJ Watt didn’t record a sack in, and in some of them, he was knocked out of the game early because of injuries. On three separate occasions he recorded at least three sacks, as Watt gave opposing offensive coordinators nightmares trying to figure out how to slow him down.

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