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Watt and Strahan are tied for most sacks in a season.
T.J. Watt's sack of Tyler Huntley in the first half made him even with Michael Strahan for most sacks in a season. (0:17)
4:30 PM
Watt tied the single-season sack record of Michael Strahan with a sack in the first half of Sunday's overtime win against the Baltimore Ravens.
Ben Roethlisberger's likely last regular-season game as the Pittsburgh's quarterback was kept alive by the win. If the Los Angeles Clippers and Las Vegas Raiders don't tie on Sunday night, the Pittsburgh Steelers will make the playoffs as the seventh seed.
Despite being doubled most of the game, Watt had three quarterback hits, a tackle for loss, a batted pass and a forced fumbled, all of which he recorded.
Watt got his lone sack of the afternoon with 23 seconds left in the first half, coming around the edge to beat tight end Eric Tomlinson and left tackle David Sharpe and bring down Huntley for a loss of three near the goal line.
He hugged his teammates and high-fived them on the field. Watt had two near-sack opportunities before the official sack. He appeared to sack Huntley and force a fumbled snap on the first. The Baltimore Ravens' scorer listed the play as a forced fumbled ball.
Watt wrapped up Huntley and brought him down with the help of Heyward. The half sack was nullified because of unnecessary roughness by Heyward.
Watt missed two complete games and almost missed all of a third, but still reached his milestone.
Watt played through multiple injuries, including a groin injury and a hip and knee injury, to get to this point.
Watt, who was voted the Pittsburgh's Most Valuable Player for a third consecutive time, entered Sunday's regular season finale just one sack from tying the franchise record.
Watt signed a four-year, $112 million extension with the Steelers that made him the highest-paid defensive player in the league. He's one of the league's most disruptive and dominant players, even though he's been a focal point of opponents' pass protection.
Watt's sack rate through Week 17 was the highest in the Next Gen Stats era. He has the third-highest pass rush win rate in the NFL when he is an edge defender. Only two people have higher Pass Rush Win Rates on the edge this year. Watt has four forced turnovers and three recovered fumbled balls.
Watt missed all week of practice after testing positive for COVID-19, but returned to record 3.5 sacks of Jackson and affect his throw on a 2-point conversion.
Watt ran laps around the trees in his backyard to prepare for the game. He is one of the league's best because of his physical preparation. Watt meticulously studies film for hours, honing in on cadence and counts to get any extra advantage.
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