Football is family, and there is no better example of that being true than with the Watt family.
With J.J. as the only Watt in the playoffs as the Houston Texans face the Buffalo Bills Saturday at 3:35 p.m. CT at NRG Stadium, the family is coming to the Bayou City to see Watt make a comeback after tearing his pectoral muscle on Oct. 27 in a seemingly season-ending injury.
Well, most of the family.
“Just T.J.,” J.J. told reporters Wednesday. “Derek has a baby and a dog, so it’s a little harder to travel. T.J. will be here.”
Derek plays fullback for the Los Angeles Chargers while T.J. is an All-Pro outside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
For J.J., the excitement of having his youngest brother, who went in the first round to the Steelers in 2017, able to watch him play in the AFC wild-card against the Bills is exciting.
“I’ve been able to watch him all season long since I’ve been out and watch him play at an unbelievably high level,” said Watt. “So, it’s been a joy for me to be able to watch him and Derek, and Derek obviously leading the NFL in special teams tackles, playing good fullback.
“So, it’s been a joy for me to be able to watch both of them play and I’m excited to have T.J. here this weekend to be able to watch me.”
What T.J. and the entire Watt family hopes to see from the oldest son on Saturday is a return to form after recovering from the pectoral injury, which is normally a three-month recovery, in a two-month span. Watt had 4.0 sacks, second-most on the team, prior to his injury, but he did lead the NFL in quarterback hits with 21. Trailing J.J. was none other than his little brother with 17.
