T.J. Watt tied the official NFL single-season sack record on January 9, 2022, in a Week 18 game against the Baltimore Ravens, when he recorded his 22.5th sack of the 2021 season to match Michael Strahan’s mark from 2001.

What record did T.J. Watt break?

  • Watt reached 22.5 sacks in the 2021 regular season, matching Strahan for the single-season NFL sack record since sacks became official in 1982.
  • The milestone sack came when he brought down Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley near the end of the first half of that game.

Game context and timing

  • The record-tying play happened in the regular-season finale, played on January 9, 2022, with the Steelers fighting to stay alive in the playoff race.
  • That sack gave Watt 22.5 on the year despite him missing time; he reached the record in only 15 games played, in a season that had 17 games on the schedule.

Why fans still talk about it

  • Fans and analysts often note that even though the schedule expanded to 17 games, Watt needed fewer games than Strahan did (15 vs. 16) to hit 22.5 sacks, which fuels debates about how to view the record history.
  • There is also ongoing discussion about “unofficial” sack records from before 1982, such as Al Baker’s 23 sacks in 1978, which adds more nuance to conversations about who truly holds the all-time single-season sack mark.

TL;DR: T.J. Watt broke into the history books by tying the single-season sack record on January 9, 2022, against the Ravens, finishing the 2021 season with 22.5 sacks.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.