Pittsburgh Steelers star linebacker TJ Watt just added to his incredible football resume. On Sunday, Watt secured his 100th sack of his pro career after taking Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott to the ground in the second quarter of the contest.
And with that sack, Watt also became the second-fasted player in the history of the NFL to reach the 100-mark plateau of quarterback takedowns, according to Grant Gordon of NFL.com.
“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.”
Watt is looking like a sure-lock to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day, and he's still got plenty of time to grow his legend in the game. His incredible impact on defense has been a huge asset for the Steelers, whose defense is doing an admirable job of keeping the team afloat in the 2024 NFL regular season. Watt and the Steelers entered the fifth week of the campaign second in the entire league with just 13.3 points allowed per game and eighth with a 9.02 percent defensive sack rate.
Watt is off to another strong start to a season, having racked up three sacks in the first four Steelers games of the season. At the time of this writing, he already added 1.5 sacks to his season total as he continues to wreak havoc on the field versus the Cowboys. Dating back to the 2023 NFL season, Watt has now recorded a sack in each of his last five games.
Watt, who will be turning 30 years old this coming Friday, is earning every cent of his huge extension deal with the Steelers. In 2021, he inked a $112.011 million contract extension with Pittsburgh, and he's earning $21.05 million in the 2024 campaign.
The latest milestone by Watt, who was taken by Pittsburgh in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft, also gets him to his brother's territory. He and JJ Watt are now the only brothers in NFL history to have at least 100 sacks each.