T.J. Watt is the family’s new sack leader. After recording his 115th career sack Sunday against the Chicago Bears, Watt surpassed J.J. Watt for most sacks in a career. And it came on a big one, a strip-sack fumble on QB Caleb Williams that Nick Herbig recovered for a touchdown. It gave Pittsburgh a 14-7 lead.
“If he’s gonna pass my record, that’s one hell of a way to do it,” J.J. Watt said on the CBS broadcast.
J.J. Watt joked he was going to put the pads back on to reclaim his mark. He finished his career with 114.5.
It’s no small feat considering the start of J.J. Watt’s career. Bursting onto the scene as one of football’s most dominant players, J.J. recorded 74.5 sacks through his first five seasons. Injuries slowed him down the rest of his career and though he’d bounce back with 16 sacks in 2018 and 12.5 in his final season in 2022, his career total finished lower than initially projected.
In his ninth season, T.J. has passed him. Like big brother, he found his stride during his sophomore season, breaking out for a double-digit sack season. He’s led the NFL in sacks three times, the first player to ever do so, including tying the single-season record with 22.5 in 2021.
“The more I get close to it, the more I think about just how cool and special it is,” J.J. Watt said on CBS prior to Sunday’s kickoff. “I just had Derek and his two sons up here in the booth before the game ’cause they’re in town. And to think about Derek playing in the league for eight years and T.J. about to pass my sacks record.
“It’s really hard to like conceptualize all that and think that we played in the backyard together dreaming of this and now we’re doing these types of things on the biggest stage. I’m just so thankful and so proud.”
J.J. Watt was on the call for Sunday’s game, getting to watch the moment in-person. Derek and his family made the trip from Wisconsin to Chicago.
Here’s a year-by-year chart of each’s sack totals.
Year J.J. Watt’s Career Sacks T.J. Watt’s Career Sacks
1 5.5 7.0
2 26.0 20.0
3 36.5 34.5
4 57.0 49.5
5 74.5 72.0
6 76.0 77.5
7 76.0 96.5
8 92.0 108.0
9 96.0 115.0
10 101.0 TBD
11 102.0 TBD
12 114.5 TBD
“I could not be more proud,” J.J. Watt said on the CBS pre game show last weekend. “As a brother, I’ve always known how great he had the potential to be. I’ve always said if he stayed healthy, he’s gonna break every single one of my records. So I could not be more proud to see him going out there and doing exactly that.”
T.J. Watt is looking to finish strong after a quiet start to the 2025 season. He now has 7 sacks on the season, falling behind Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett for most sacks in their careers.
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