Tag: TJ Watt

Cowboys on wrong end of historic career start Week 5 vs Steelers

With injuries mounting, why not throw a career milestone on to salt the wound.

When the schedules were released in May, fans of quarterback pressure circled two of the Cowboys’ first five games. In Week 1, the matchup between Myles Garrett and Micah Parsons lived up to the billing of two of the three preeminent pass rushers in the NFL with both players notching sacks.

Week 5 was the second iteration as Parsons and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ TJ Watt were set to match wits. Only Parsons was injured in Week 4 and is missing the game. To make matters worse, with Dallas driving near the end of the first quarter to take an early lead, Watt made history.

Watt, who has led the NFL in sacks three times already in his career, notched a half tally in a strip sack of Dak Prescott deep in Pittsburgh’s territory, giving him 100 for his career in just 109 career games.

It’s the fastest a player has made that number since Reggie White did it in 96.

Watt, of course, could have been making these milestones while wearing a Dallas uniform. In 2017, Dallas had Watt sitting there in the first round to be taken out of Wisconsin, but the Cowboys famously thought that because they ran a 40-front, Watt wouldn’t make a good fit as he was used to playing standing up.

Instead the Cowboys selected Taco Charlton out of Michigan, who couldn’t even complete half of his rookie contract without getting released.

Steelers week 1 takeaway: Defense dominates

Steelers week 1 takeaway: Defense dominates

Blitzberg was in full force for the Pittsburgh Steelers week 1 victory in Atlanta. Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins looked extremely uncomfortable, constantly under pressure from the Pittsburgh pass rush. 

The Falcons had one touchdown drive on Sunday and it was perhaps the only true noteworthy drive.  With the offense under constant duress, Kirk Cousins tossed two interceptions off pressures from Larry Ogunjobi and TJ Watt.

Watt had two potential strip-sack fumble recoveries called back by flags. One was an extremely questionable call and angered Steelers fans alike, on a terrible offsides call on Watt. However, the defense took the game out of the referees’ hands and put it into their own on Sunday.   

Watt’s consistent pressure and concluding sack on the day show that he should always belong in the conversation for the best defensive player in football. 

The Steelers’ defense held the Atlanta Falcons to 224 offensive yards and just a measly 54 yards in the second half.  The Steelers will look to build off this momentum as they head to Denver next Sunday. 

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BIlls’ Greg Rousseau named ‘player who could breakout in 2024’

#BIlls’ Greg Rousseau named ‘player who could breakout in 2024’

Buffalo Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau has been solid during his tenure in Buffalo. In four years, he has consistently improved and entrenched himself as an integral part of the Bills defensive line.

Last season, Rousseau led the Bills defensive ends in snap percentage, seeing 54.6 percent of the snaps.

The Bills moved on from Leonard Floyd, who led Buffalo with 10.5 sacks last year. In addition, Von Miller is coming off his worst season as a pro, registering only three tackles and no sacks.

Thus, Rousseau will have greater responsibility as he enters his fourth professional season. The Miami product should have more opportunities to play in a variety of situations for Buffalo’s defense in the fall.

With this in mind, the 33rd Team’ sees Rousseau as a defensive player who could break out in the 2024 season.

The analysis highlights that even though Rousseau’s sack total dropped during the past two campaigns, the end has shown improvements in other aspects of his game:

Rousseau was a much better player in 2023 as he created more pressures (68) and improved significantly as a run defender. During the 2022 season, Rousseau was just an average run defender who teams would run toward when possible. But in 2023, he became an above-average run player, finishing the season with 19 stops. His improvement as a run defender has been a steady one despite it being a weakness coming out of college. Now, he is an every-down player who can thrive in any situation.

In addition, Rousseau was on par with some of the league’s best in different metrics. Rousseau’s pass-win rate was 16.0 percent last year, just behind Pittsburgh’s superstar TJ Watt (16.9 percent). Rousseau was slightly ahead of Danielle Hunter (15.7 percent) and Maxx Crosby (15.5) percent. Mosher posits that if Rousseau can improve this number, a double-digit sack season may be on the horizon.

Rousseau enters the season as Buffalo’s No. 1 defensive end. He has a great deal of experience on the field, taking starting snaps early in his career. The 33rd Team sees things turning out well for Rousseau’s development this year:

Rousseau just turned 24 and already has three seasons under his belt with nearly 2,000 snaps played. But going into Year 4, the expectations are even higher. The Bills need Rousseau to be a star on the edge and be a consistent pass rusher in big games. And given his trajectory, it’s not hard to believe that it will happen given his rapid improvement.

Rousseau has started all 46 games he has played in a Buffalo uniform. Over three seasons, he has recorded 129 total tackles, 42 quarterback hits, 17 sacks, three forced fumbles, and an interception.

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Every former Wisconsin Badger selected in NFL draft first round since 2000

Every former Wisconsin Badger selected in NFL draft first round since 2000:

The 2024 NFL draft enters its third day of action on Saturday, April 27 with rounds 4-7.

Three rounds are already in the books, and no former Wisconsin Badger was selected in that frame for the fourth time since 2011.

Related: Wisconsin football 2024 spring transfer portal window tracker

There will be several former Badgers selected on day three of the draft —  including running back Braelon Allen, offensive lineman Tanor Bortolini and running back Isaac Guerendo (via Louisville). Several others have a chance to be selected but will likely sign as undrafted free agents.

The Wisconsin football program is in the midst of a cold streak of turning players into top draft picks. Numerous recent players have turned into NFL stars, including Leo Chenal, Jonathan Taylor, T.J. Edwards and Andrew Van Ginkel — though none were first-round selections.

Luke Fickell and his staff are working to revamp the roster, which should lead toward that streak changing. But until that happens, here is every former Wisconsin Badger to be selected in first round since 2000:

NFL legend Aaron Donald says a former Wisconsin Badger is the league’s best defensive player

NFL legend Aaron Donald says a former Wisconsin Badger is the league’s best defensive player

NFL legend Aaron Donald joined the Green Light podcast with Chris Long this week and gave his take on the league’s best defensive player — now that he’s retired from the sport.

His answer: former Wisconsin Badgers outside linebacker T.J. Watt.

“Right now, I think it’s T.J. Watt,” Donald said. “If you talk about a guy that’s consistent, been doing it year-in and year-out consistently. That’s going to get you 15 sacks, or 13 sacks or damn 22 sacks consistent. He’s the guy that’s been doing it. … Interceptions every year, touchdowns. His stats be ridiculous.”

Related: Evaluating the Big Ten’s next targets for conference expansion

The stats back it up, as Donald noted. Watt’s seven-year NFL career has already included 96.5 sacks, 107 tackles for loss, 198 quarterback hits, 27 forced fumbles and seven interceptions. Those counting stats, plus six Pro Bowls, four first-team All-Pro honors and the 2021 AP Defensive Player of the Year.

Many around the league said Donald was still the scariest defender in the league, even in 2023 in his 10th NFL season. Watt now has a chance to decisively take that crown with Donald retired.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Former Wisconsin Badgers linebacker ranks in top five in major NFL category

Former Wisconsin Badgers linebacker ranks in top five in major NFL category

The NFL season is still six months away, but the league never leaves the front page and a former Wisconsin Badgers linebacker received some attention Monday.

Pittsburgh Steelers standout edge rusher TJ Watt ranks second only to Haason Reddick in forced fumbles since the beginning of the 2020 campaign, which comes as no surprise. After two seasons with the Eagles, Reddick will be a New York Jet in 2024, joining Watt in the AFC.

Watt has been electric since he was selected in the first round (30th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft, ranking at or near the top of the league in sacks, forced fumbles, quarterback pressures and more.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers continue to be a popular home for former Wisconsin Badgers

Can you name all six former Badgers currently on the Pittsburgh Steelers?

Former Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday evening, sending shockwaves through the NFL as the first big domino of the free-agent period.

Wilson will make just $1.2 million over the one-year deal from the Steelers — that while somehow still getting paid $39 million per year from the Broncos.

Related: Pre-spring bold predictions for the 2024 Big Ten football season

For Pittsburgh, the former Badger is an easy upgrade over Kenny Pickett and should make the Steelers contenders in the AFC North. For Wilson, this move was a badly-needed second chance after the disaster his tenure in Denver became.

The non-Wilson story here: the former Wisconsin signal-caller became yet another former Badger to join the Steelers. Here are all of those players now, up to a whopping total of six:

Wisconsin football’s all-time sack leaders

Can you guess Wisconsin’s entire top 10 of all-time sack leaders?

The Wisconsin football program has produced terrific pass-rushing defensive linemen and linebackers at a surprising clip.

Yes, the existence of the Watt brothers helps the program’s case. But both T.J. and J.J. Watt will be in the NFL Hall of Fame, then add recent standouts including Leo Chenal, Keeanu Benton and Andrew Van Ginkel.

Wisconsin is often known for its running backs and offensive linemen. But the recent Dave Aranda and Jim Leonhard defenses have sent linebackers and pass-rushers to the NFL almost annually.

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We’ve recently updated Wisconsin’s all-time rushing, passing and receiving lists.

Today, we’re back to take a look at the program’s all-time sack leaders. Believe it or not, neither Watt brother is on the list.

Here sthe program’s up-to-date all-time sack list:

T.J. Watt’s cryptic 5-word post may have summed up feelings about Defensive Player of the Year snub

Was T.J. Watt mad about losing DPOY to Myles Garrett?

Did T.J. Watt find out that Myles Garrett would be named Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday and not himself before the 2024 NFL Honors ceremony?

Because it sure seemed like the pass-rusher who led the NFL in sacks with 19.0 this season caught wind of it, given what he posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, about an hour before the festivities got underway.

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“Nothing I’m not used to,” he remarked. He won the award back in 2021 after notching 22.5 sacks and 21 tackles for a loss (both led the league), but he’s finished second (2020) and third (2019). So maybe this is his way of saying he should have won it multiple times:

How to watch four former Wisconsin Badgers in today’s NFL Pro Bowl Games

How to watch four former Wisconsin Badgers in today’s NFL Pro Bowl Games

The NFL Pro Bowl is later today — or Pro Bowl Games given the move away from a true football game. The shift occurred entering 2023 as the league opted to move away from contact in the exhibition contest, or as years of players not trying pushed them to do so. Regardless, there is one football-adjacent activity today. It’s the NFL’s Pro Bowl Games.

Four former Wisconsin Badgers earned the nod this season: Miami Dolphins fullback Alec Ingold, Baltimore Ravens guard Kevin Zeitler, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt and Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson.

Related: Power ranking all 18 Big Ten football programs after the 2023 season

The game kicks off — or begins, given it’s a flag football game and not played with traditional rules — at 2 p.m. central / 3 p.m. eastern on ESPN and ABC.