TJ Watt made NFL history Sunday when he recorded a sack in the Steelers’ 16-13 overtime win over the Ravens. That gave him 22.5 for the season, tying him with Michael Strahan for the one-season record held since 2001.
It was a great achievement for Watt, but Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger believes his teammate deserves more. He’s campaigning for Watt to be alone at the top of the list.
It began when Roethlisberger made his voice heard during the end of Watt’s media availability.
“Give him half a sack,” Roethlisberger said after the game, according to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “Start the petition”.
That was not all. Roethlisberger wanted to make sure everyone heard his message during his own media availability. He answered every question put to him, but also expressed his support for Watt at the end of his last three answers.
“The NFL needs to give TJ Watt a half sack,” repeated Roethlisberger.
Is Roethlisberger right? Well, Watt made a critical entry for the loss of Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley early in the contest initially thought to be the record-breaking sack.
Why wasn’t that called a sack? The referees ruled that the errant snap from the center was a fumble. As a result, Huntley was credited with recovering a fumble when he picked it up, and that made him a running back in the backfield.
That seemed to be the right decision, as the center was unable to return the center to Huntley. Still, the Steelers, including Watt’s fellow defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, are hopeful the NFL will make a statistical correction and hand Watt the extra catch.
Perhaps the NFL is convinced, but for now, expect Watt to settle for tying the record after playing just 15 of 17 games.