Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt has seen his fair share of quarterbacks. It is what happens when you record 101.0 career sacks; you get to know them a little more intimately.
One of the Pro Bowl, playoff-winning quarterbacks Watt has faced off with in his 10-year career is Philip Rivers, who was the quarterback for the Charges organization from 2004-19 and then spent the past year with the Indianapolis Colts.
On Twitter Wednesday, a fan tagged a picture of Watt on Twitter of the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year sacking Rivers in their Sept. 22, 2019, matchup in Los Angeles. Watt responded back.
“I’ll never forget lining up for a play and Phil pointing to one of our linebackers and telling him he was lined up wrong based off the blitz we were about to run and being 100% correct about it haha,” Watt wrote. “One of the smartest I’ve ever played against and a hell of a competitor.”
I’ll never forget lining up for a play and Phil pointing to one of our linebackers and telling him he was lined up wrong based off the blitz we were about to run and being 100% correct about it haha.
One of the smartest I’ve ever played against and a hell of a competitor. https://t.co/1AZxyvDafu
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) January 20, 2021
In a Dec. 2, 2020, presser with the Houston media, Watt also mentioned he enjoyed Rivers’ colorful away of avoiding swear words.
Said Watt: “His version of cussing I think is the funniest thing that he does. Obviously, the fact that he doesn’t cuss, he makes up some pretty unique and interesting words to get his point across. My brother Derek (Watt) having played in San Diego and L.A. with Philip for a few years, he had some good stories to share as well. It’s always interesting to hear what he comes up with and to see if he has any new ones.”
With the Colts looking for a new quarterback, their hope is they can find a signal caller who can develop into an intellectual gift under center as Rivers was in 2020. If he is, Watt will be among the first to point it out.