Watt brothers enjoying sack race: It's a 'healthy competition'

J.J. and T.J. Watt are in a race to see who's the true sack master in the family.

J.J., the star defensive lineman of the Houston Texans, and T.J., the Pittsburgh Steelers' first-round pick in 2017, are currently tied with Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins for the NFL lead in sacks.

Although the brothers see the sack race as a "healthy competition," their support for one another is unwavering.

"It's always been competitive," J.J. said, via ESPN's Sarah Barshop. "It's always been like that. This is just the first time in the league we've gotten a chance to both be healthy and do it the same time.

"But, no, we're each other's biggest fans. We each root for each other as much as we can, whenever we can. I want to see him get as many sacks as he can possibly get, just the same way he wants to see me (get to the quarterback). We compete, and there's definitely a little bit of underlying competition there, but at the end of the day, if he gets 500 sacks, I'd be happy as hell."

Competing for the league's sack title also adds unique motivation during the brothers' games. Prior to the Texans' Week 5 win over the Dallas Cowboys, T.J. collected three sacks against the Atlanta Falcons.

The younger T.J. had six sacks to J.J.'s five at that point, so the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year had added incentive to get to the quarterback.

"I knew he had six sacks, so I knew I had to get at least one," J.J. said. "Otherwise, I couldn't go back to my phone after that. Then, I missed the one, so I was really pissed off."

J.J. did notch a sack in the fourth quarter to ensure there would be a tie between the brothers heading into Week 6.