J.J. Watt has re-injured his back and been placed on injured reserve, costing him the next eight games at a minimum. Gone is his veteran leadership and on-field disruptiveness, and gone is the league's best defensive player. Gone also is the heart of the Houston pass rush.
Watt racked up 75.5 sacks over the last five seasons. That's nearly 40 percent of the team's sacks during that span. Houston still has Whitney Mercilus and Jadeveon Clowney, but the defense looks a whole lot less intimidating right now.
Since Watt entered the league, only seven teams have more sacks than Houston. Big loss.
TEAM SACKS, 2011-2015 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Total |
Denver | 41 | 52 | 41 | 41 | 52 | 227 |
St. Louis | 39 | 52 | 53 | 40 | 41 | 225 |
Minnesota | 50 | 44 | 41 | 41 | 43 | 219 |
Carolina | 31 | 39 | 60 | 40 | 44 | 214 |
New England | 40 | 37 | 48 | 40 | 49 | 214 |
Baltimore | 48 | 37 | 40 | 49 | 37 | 211 |
Green Bay | 29 | 47 | 44 | 41 | 43 | 204 |
Houston | 44 | 44 | 32 | 38 | 45 | 203 |
Philadelphia | 50 | 30 | 37 | 49 | 37 | 203 |
Cincinnati | 45 | 51 | 43 | 20 | 42 | 201 |
Arizona | 42 | 38 | 47 | 35 | 36 | 198 |
Buffalo | 29 | 36 | 57 | 54 | 21 | 197 |
Kansas City | 29 | 27 | 47 | 46 | 47 | 196 |
Miami | 41 | 42 | 42 | 39 | 31 | 195 |
Detroit | 41 | 34 | 33 | 42 | 42 | 192 |
NY Jets | 35 | 30 | 41 | 45 | 39 | 190 |
Pittsburgh | 35 | 37 | 34 | 33 | 48 | 187 |
Seattle | 33 | 36 | 44 | 37 | 37 | 187 |
NY Giants | 48 | 33 | 34 | 47 | 23 | 185 |
Washington | 41 | 32 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 184 |
San Francisco | 42 | 38 | 38 | 36 | 28 | 182 |
Tennessee | 28 | 39 | 36 | 39 | 39 | 181 |
Chicago | 33 | 41 | 31 | 39 | 35 | 179 |
Indianapolis | 29 | 32 | 42 | 41 | 35 | 179 |
New Orleans | 33 | 30 | 49 | 34 | 31 | 177 |
Cleveland | 32 | 38 | 40 | 31 | 29 | 170 |
Dallas | 42 | 34 | 34 | 28 | 31 | 169 |
Jacksonville | 31 | 20 | 31 | 45 | 36 | 163 |
San Diego | 32 | 38 | 35 | 26 | 32 | 163 |
Oakland | 39 | 25 | 38 | 22 | 38 | 162 |
Tampa Bay | 23 | 27 | 35 | 36 | 38 | 159 |
Atlanta | 33 | 29 | 32 | 22 | 19 | 135 |
--Andy Richardson