T.J. Watt is now officially 26th all-time on the NFL sack list.
Perhaps more importantly for the Pittsburgh Steelers pass rusher is that he became No. 1 in the Watt family.
Watt strip-sacked Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams in the second quarter of Sunday's 31-28 loss, giving him 115 sacks for his career, surpassing his brother J.J. Watt's career total (114.5).
The fumble was recovered in the end zone by Steelers teammate Nick Herbig, giving Pittsburgh a 14-7 lead.
Heading into Week 12, T.J. Watt was in a logjam on the all-time sack charts, surrounded by his big brother and two of his contemporaries: current Arizona Cardinal Calais Campbell (25th, 115.5) and Cleveland Browns rival Myles Garrett (24th, 117.5), who each took the field in Sunday’s late window. Campbell logged another 0.5 sack to reach 116, while Garrett added three more to his career total.
J.J. Watt is a future Hall of Famer following a decorated 12-year career with the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals from 2011-2022, with five All-Pro nods, three AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year accolades and six double-digit sack seasons.
Younger brother T.J., a seven-time Pro Bowler, four-time All-Pro and one-time DPOY recipient, joined the league in 2017 and has moved up the sack ranks at a quicker pace, having rushed by his older sibling in just his ninth season.
J.J., now retired and a CBS Sports color commentator, just so happened to be on the call for T.J.'s historic play.
“If he’s gonna pass my record, that’s one hell of a way to do it with a strip-sack causing a touchdown," J.J. said. "Good for you, T.J.”
At 31, T.J. figures to have plenty more playing time to continue rising up the all-time ranks and putting some more space between him and his big bro.