In the Pittsburgh Steelers' final game of the regular season, T.J. Watt managed to tie — and almost break — the single-season sack record. The Week 18 season finale was dramatic, to say the least, and even more so for the outside linebacker.
In the first quarter, everyone thought that Watt tied Michael Strahan's record of 22.5 sacks in a single season, but that wasn't the case. The official ruling was a forced fumble. Take a look for yourself, video courtesy of Michael Beck.
This was clearly a passing play… TJ Watt should be credited for a sack pic.twitter.com/GvATYWyjMO
— Michael Beck (@MichaelBeck56) January 10, 2022
He ended up getting the sack he needed to tie the record in the second quarter, which was just enough sacks to tie Strahan's record.
Watt was so close to breaking the record, but he isn't focused on what could have been. Steelers reporter Brian Batko tweeted Watt's thoughts on the situation.
TJ Watt says he's not disappointed at no stat correction from the Ravens game to give him 23.5 sacks and thus the single-season. "The regular season's closed," and he's moving on to the playoffs.
— Brian Batko (@BrianBatko) January 14, 2022
According to Batko, Watt also explained why he was less aggressive in the Steelers' Week 16 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. He said that he wasn't feeling 100%, and he feels much better now going into the playoffs.
Watt finished the regular season with 64 tackles: 48 solo and 16 assisted. He also had five forced fumbles, seven defended passes, and the record-tying 22.5 sacks.
The Steelers will take on the Chiefs in a rematch in their Wild Card game Sunday night. They are double-digit underdogs against Patrick Mahomes and company, and it will likely be Steelers' veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's final game in the NFL.
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