Make your Canton hotel reservations now. In 2028, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is expected to induct Tom Brady and J.J. Watt in the same class. But whenever Watt’s brother T.J. decides to retire, expect a family reunion in Northeast Ohio.
T.J. Watt took another step in that direction Monday night, helping to seal the Steelers’ 26-18 win over the Giants. With three minutes left in the game, New York driving to tie and facing third-and-7 from the Pittsburgh 19-yard line, Watt delivered. He not only stripped Daniel Jones but also recovered the fumble, all but icing victory for the Steelers (6-2).
“Do you realize how impressive it is that T.J. Watt and J.J. Watt could be used in the same sentence outside of the fact that they are brothers?” Evan Cohen asked on Tuesday’s edition of Unsportsmanlike on ESPN2. “T.J. Watt’s career is so great that we now have the right to at least do the compare and contrast with his brother, who’s going into the Hall of Fame. … The reality is, T.J. Watt is so good that it is worth comparing him to his brother.”
Whichever edge-rusher finishes with the better Hall of Fame career isn’t important to T.J. Watt right now. He’s focused on securing the family’s first Super Bowl title. To that end, Watt is tied for the league lead with four forced fumbles and, with a season-high two sacks against the Giants (2-6), is tied for seventh with 6½ this season. With 103 in his career, he needs 12 more sacks to surpass the 114½ brother J.J. compiled over 12 years in the NFL. However, T.J. has just one Defensive Player of the Year award while J.J. had three.
“Yeah, one won Defensive Player of the Year three times in his career and the other one led the NFL in sacks three times in his career,” said former defensive lineman Chris Canty, who won a Super Bowl with the Giants. “It’s the first time any player has ever done that, lead the league in sacks three different years.”
This feels like a different year in the AFC North, where the Steelers have a one-game lead over Baltimore (5-3). Pittsburgh got there thanks to the Browns’ upset victory on Sunday and a gutsy decision by Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin to insert Russell Wilson at quarterback.
Since the change, Wilson looks like the nine-time Pro Bowler he was prior to leaving Seattle for Denver. The veteran has passed for 542 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions over his two Steelers wins. He’s been even better in the second halves of those victories, leading the league over the last two weeks with a 147.2 second-half passer rating during that time.
Speaking of second halves, after its bye this week, Pittsburgh is staring at an insane schedule over the balance of the season. The Steelers return for a game at first-place Washington Nov. 10 followed by four straight division games. They close the regular season at Philadelphia, at Baltimore and home to Kansas City and Cincinnati. All six AFC North games on Pittsburgh’s schedule are in that stretch.
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