Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt became the fifth-fastest player in NFL history to 100 sacks since the statistic became official in 1982, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, when he sacked Jacksonville Jaguars rookie quarterback Jake Luton in the fourth quarter of Houston’s 27-25 win.
The Houston Texans defensive end is the 35th player in NFL history to hit the milestone, and the only players to do it faster are Reggie White (96), Lawrence Taylor (106), DeMarcus Ware (113) and Bruce Smith (115). Watt has 100 sacks in his first 120 games, but said the milestone isn’t as big of a deal because it didn’t happen earlier in his career.
“A lot of people have been talking about the 100 lately,” Watt said last month. “I appreciate the questions, but I think for me it’s not nearly as big of a deal as somebody may think because I think it should’ve happened three or four years ago. Obviously with everything that happened and all the injuries and stuff, it didn’t.
“For me to have a 100 in year 10, doesn’t really register for me because I feel like I should’ve been there a lot earlier. It’ll be cool whenever it comes, but I’m just focusing on winning. I just want to get a win.”
Watt started his career with 74.5 sacks in his first five seasons, but after not missing a single game during that time, he spent time on injured reserve in three of the next four seasons. Because of injuries, he went more than two years — and eight games — without a sack. Watt is the only player in NFL history to record 20 or more sacks in a season more than once.
Watt’s 100th career sack was his fourth of the 2020 season. He also has a forced fumble, fumble recovery and three tackles for a loss.