(Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
With 1.5 sacks in Sunday's win over the Titans, T.J. Watt surpassed James Harrison (16) for the most sacks in a single season in franchise history. Harrison set the record in 2008.
“It’s a great accomplishment,” Watt said about breaking Harrison's sack record via Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “It’s a historic franchise we have here, but there’s so much work to do that I can’t really stop and think about stuff like that. Just finished a game, got a win, but it means nothing if we don’t handle business next week.”
Harrison was also named Defensive Player of the Year for his 2008 campaign. Could Watt be the next Steelers outside linebacker to win the prestigious NFL award?
Watt is pretty much in a three-way battle for DPOY right now, as Browns defensive end Myles Garrett and Cowboys rookie inside linebacker Micah Parsons are also having incredible seasons. Last year's DPOY Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald and Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs are also in the mix, but they're probably on the outside looking in. According to Pro Football Focus, Watt currently has the best odds to win DPOY at +250.
As I've mentioned before, if Watt breaks Strahan's all-time single-season sack record, I don't know how the Associated Press doesn't give him DPOY. Strahan set the record in 2001 with 22.5 sacks. So, Watt needs 5.5 sacks in the last three games to break the record. The 17th game in the schedule won't play a factor either, as Watt has missed two games this year and has missed the second halves of two other games.
According to Michael Bertsch of the Steelers public relations department, Watt leads the NFL in sacks (17.5), quarterback hits (30), fumble recoveries (3), and ranks tied for second in tackles for losses (17) and tied for fourth in forced fumbles (4).
Watt continues to smash records and be mentioned in the same category of some the best pass rushers to ever play the game. According to NFL Research, when Watt recorded his 17th sack of the season yesterday, it brought him to a total of 66.5 career sacks, which passed Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas for the third-most in a player's first five seasons.