In terms of his career, T.J. Watt is on a historic pace when it comes to sacks. The Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro and Defensive Player of the Year tied the single-season sack record in 2021 and became one of the fastest players in history to reach 100 career sacks.
But this year, the tables have turned, and Watt's production doesn't match what we're used to seeing.
The superstar drawing unprecedented attention from chip blocks by the opposing offense. This, in turn, impeded his path to the quarterback and caused his usually lofty sack numbers to take a hit.
There's hope that these numbers will be restored by the end of the season.
Entering Week 13, Watt had just 7.5 sacks under his belt in the first 11 games of the season. This ranked outside of the top 10 in the league in this department and put him on pace for just 11.5 sacks on the season. Interestingly, Bengals star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson had 11.5 sacks after Week 12.
In sixty minutes of action last week, Watt changed the narrative. Against the Bengals, Watt recorded two sacks, including a game-wrecking strip-sack forced fumble that shifted the tides in Pittsburgh's favor. At the same time, Hendrickson -- who had a four-sack game against the Raiders in November -- was held without a sack against Pittsburgh in Week 13.
Entering Week 14, Watt jumped up to 9.5 sacks, which ties him with Texans star and 2023 Defensive Rookie of the Year Will Anderson Jr.
2024 sack title is easily within reach for Steelers star T.J. Watt
After a drought of sack production, a multi-sack performance by Watt puts him firmly on the radar as a candidate to lead the league in this department by the end of the 2024 season. Watt is now just two sacks behind Hendrickson for the top-ranked spot.
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A lot can happen in five games -- especially when we're talking about a future Hall of Famer who led the NFL in sacks in three of the past four seasons.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have games remaining against the Browns, Eagles, Ravens, Chiefs, and Bengals. While there are some incredibly challenging contests for the team, Watt has very favorable matchups down the stretch.
Outside of a daunting task against All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson in Week 15, Watt will get matchups against, Ravens rookie Roger Rosengarten, Bengals rookie Armarius Mims, and Chiefs' struggling RT Jawaan Taylor. Though Watt was held without a sack against Jack Conklin and the Browns, the snowy conditions in Cleveland made it hard to get footing. Watt will look to get his revenge at home this week.
Don't be surprised if Watt has another multi-sack game or two in the Steelers's final five contests. Even at 30 years old, sack production is something we've come to expect from Watt and a fourth sack title is well within reach.