BALTIMORE - Leaning against a white cinderblock wall in the visitors media room after defeating the Baltimore Ravens in overtime 16-13, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had a message for the NFL.
"Give him half the sack," Roethlisberger told outside linebacker T.J. Watt on the podium. "Start the petition."
Just hours earlier, Watt surpassed Michael Strahan's NFL single-season sack record with 23 seconds in the first half. Watt had at least one more, which would have given him sole rights to the record.
"I don't know if any of it hit me," Watt said of tying the record. "It's not just me. There are many other people involved, great players, coaches, schemes and there are so many selfless people in the locker room that allow me to make plays. So this record is not just mine."
The win kept the Steelers' playoff hopes alive, which was likely Roethlisberger's last regular season game as the Steelers' quarterback. With an upset from the Jacksonville Jaguars of the Indianapolis Colts, the Steelers made it to the playoffs as the No. 7 seed after the Las Vegas Raiders beat the Los Angeles Chargers 35-32 in a walk-off victory in overtime on Sunday night. If the Raiders and Chargers were tied, the Steelers would have been eliminated.
"We still have a pulse if you give us a chance," Watt said before Sunday night's game. "To get us in the dance, anything can happen, and that's where we're at now. So, [we're] hungrier than ever. We want to keep playing football, keep playing . There are a lot of people ready to come to the facility tomorrow, watch some movies and move on."
Not only did Watt record a historic sack for a total of 22.5 this season, but he also had three quarterback hits, a tackle for defeat, a batting pass and a forced fumble - all despite the game being doubled.
With 23 seconds in the first half, Watt got his lone sack of the afternoon, coming around the edge, beating the Ravens tight end Eric Tomlinson, leaving David Sharp and quarterback Tyler Huntley down for a loss of 3 near the goal line.
He hugged and high-fives his teammates on the field before the next game. Before that official sack, Watt had about two occasions. At first, he appeared to sack Huntley and force a fumble as Huntley scrambled to recover from a bad picture. But the Ravens' scorer officially listed the play as a forced fumble.
Late in the second quarter, Watt wraps up Huntley and brings him down with help from Cam Hayward. But Hayward was whistled for unnecessary roughness, and half the sack was denied.
"I couldn't be more excited for that dude," Hayward said. "I knew he was a little nervous starting the game. As a team, you just want to see one guy succeed. I'm sure TJ's going to tell you, he's going to share that sack record with other guys." Can't break without the herd. People are helping. [Chris] Wormley, [Isaiah] Loudermilk, [Alex] Highsmith. There's a lot of contributing factors to it. It takes great coverage to do that too. When a guy like this breaks records I've never seen anyone break that record. It's special to see this happen to the Pittsburgh Steelers."
Watt reached Strahan's 2001 milestone, despite missing two games and almost a third. Strahan holds the record in 16 matches.
To reach this point, Watt played through several injuries, including a protracted groin injury and hip and knee injuries sustained on Jared Goff's sack against the Detroit Lions.
Watt, voted the Steelers' MVP by his teammates for the third time in a row, entered Sunday's regular season finale just one sack away from the record after downing Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield four times to a career-high Monday night. .
Just before the season, 27-year-old Watts signed a four-year, $112 million extension with the Steelers, making him the NFL's highest-paid defensive player, marking his career as one of the leading players in the league. strengthened the position. He has been a focal point of patronage near opponents, yet he remains one of the most disruptive and influential players in the league.
Through Week 17, Watt generated a sack at 6.1% of his pass crowd, the highest single-season sack rate in the Next Gen Stats era. He also has the third-highest pass rush win rate in the NFL when he stands as an edge defender, beating his blocks within 2.5 seconds of 25% of the time. Only Miles Garrett (28%) and Josh Sweat (26%) have the higher Pass Rush win rates on the lead this year. Watt also has four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
Earlier in the season, Watt missed a week of practice after testing positive for COVID-19, but came back to record 3.5 sacks versus Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. He also carried Jackson's unfinished pass attempt, which would have been a game-winning 2-point conversion, allowing the Steelers to hold on for a 20–19 victory.
While isolated to prepare for that game, Watt ran around the trees in his backyard.