All Steelers

James Harrison Congratulates T.J. Watt on Tying Steelers Sack Record

James Harrison celebrated T.J. Watt tying his Pittsburgh Steelers sack record.

Stephen Thompson

In this story:

PITTSBURGH -- Outside linebacker T.J. Watt was one of the few bright spots for the Pittsburgh Steelers during their disastrous 30-7 home loss in the season opener to the San Francisco 49ers. He did everything he could to get his team back into the game, recording five total tackles, three of which were sacks, two of which resulted in a forced fumble and one of which he recovered himself for a turnover. 

Those three sacks were just enough to move Watt into a tie with James Harrison for the Steelers' all-time sack record and Harrison congratulated Watt on the accomplishment.  

Harrison recorded 80.5 of his 84.5 career sacks with the Steelers, the vast majority of which came during a five-season stretch from 2007 to 2011, when he amassed an astonishing 54.5 sacks, five Pro Bowl selections, four All-Pro teams and a Defensive Player of the Year award. 

It took a while for Harrison to get his career to that kind of elite level, but Watt came into his own much quicker. It took Watt just 88 games to tied the Steelers' all-time record, while Harrison needed 177 games to reach 80.5 sacks. 

Watt has already cemented his place in the Pantheon of all-time great Steelers defenders and was proud of this accomplishment, but was more focused on the result of the game he had just finished and working to improve for Week 2. 

“I mean, I don’t wanna diminish what it is, but I’m just super, super upset about the results of today," Watt said. "Not happy with it, not acceptable on many levels and there’s so many more plays to be made out there. I mean, myself included. Just looking at a lot of the runs, what we can do better, what I can do better, and we need to improve quickly, and we have a tough opponent coming up this week, so we need to get in the lab.”

Make sure you bookmark All Steelers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

Steelers Rivals J.K. Dobbins Suffers Season-Ending Injury

Steelers TE Suffers Chest Injury

Steelers WR Diontae Johnson Suffers Leg Injury

Steelers DT Cam Heyward Suffers Groin Injury in Week 1

Chase Claypool Blames Steelers for NFL Struggles

Published
Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper. He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press. During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general. 

Home/News