J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans and his brothers are set to achieve a special feat on Sunday.
The Houston Texans and J.J. Watt are on the road this week in Pittsburgh as they’ll be taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3, but just as entertaining in the very important AFC game for the visitors is the fact Watt will also be facing his brothers, T.J. Watt and Derek Watt.
For just the second time in NFL history a trio of brothers will be playing in the same game, and within those brothers, two of the top players at their positions will be trying to out play each other on Sunday. The first time three brothers were in the same game happened last season when Trey Edmunds, Terrell Edmunds and Tremaine Edmunds all were in the same game when the Steelers faced the Buffalo Bills.
The Watt brothers have recently been all over your TV screens as the three players were the host of the FOX reality game show “Ultimate Tag,” plus J.J. Watt and his brothers have been selling sandwiches for Subway in their commercials.
This Sunday though, the entertainment won’t be the funny banter the three have on Twitter, but on the football field with J.J. Watt being a member of the Texans defensive line, while T.J. and Derek Watt are members of the Steelers, who enter this game 2-0 overall. The Texans are opposite in the standings, as they are 0-2 to start the season.
It is safe to say no team has played a tougher schedule to start the season than the Houston Texans as they’ve faced the two best teams in the AFC from a year ago in the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens.
With the Steelers being the next team on the schedule, the task at hand isn’t any easier, but having the bit of history for the game with the Watt’s is fun in it’s own way.
Sunday’s Steelers-Texans game will be the first game J.J., T.J. and Derek Watt have all played in together at any level of their football careers.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 24, 2020
It will also mark just the second time a trio of brothers have played in an NFL game since 1927 (Edmunds, 2019), per @EliasSports.
Houston Texans vs. Steelers: What do the Watt brothers stats look like in 2020?
For J.J. Watt, this season with the Houston Texans things began to come together in Week 2 against the Ravens as the defensive end collected two sacks in the loss. Combined in the first two games this season J.J. Watt has five solo tackles, two tackles for loss, two sacks, five QB hits and one pass defensed.
T.J. Watt in two games as outside linebacker for the Steelers has one interception, two passes defensed, 2.5 sacks, four solo tackles, three tackles for loss and six quarterback hits. The offensive line of the Texans will have a hard time stopping T.J. Watt, but they must do whatever it takes to slow him down so he doesn’t get in the same area code as Deshaun Watson. Then again, that is much easier said than done because Watt in his fourth season is really starting to turn up the intensity in his overall game, already becoming one of the best at his position.
Derek Watt is a fullback on offense, but hasn’t had a carry in the first two weeks, though special teams is where he’s made his living this season for the Steelers. In two games, Derek Watt has played in 73-percent of the special teams snaps of the Steelers, equaling 40 plays. In that time on the field Watt has collected four total tackles (three solo), with one tackle for loss, and one safety.
This won’t be the first time J.J. Watt and Derek Watt have faced each other as that happened when Derek Watt played for the Chargers.
Expect the tempo to be off the charts for all three Watt brothers. Maybe this is the game J.J. Watt needs to play in as he started to look like his old self again in Week 2. Now J.J. Watt can get even more intense as the older brother attempts to out play his two younger brothers in Week 3, and along the way help the Houston Texans earn their first win of the season.