Watt brothers relish being on same field; Steelers' T.J., Derek get better of J.J., Texans

The coin toss that preceded Sunday’s Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Houston Texans game at Heinz Field perhaps resembled other, less-formal coin tosses from many years ago on a grass field in a Wisconsin backyard.

Two Watts, ready to go at each other.

The second NFL game over the past 93 years to feature three brothers ended in a 28-21 victory for the Steelers of T.J. and Derek Watt. J.J.’s Texans fell to 0-3.

“I just tried to — especially towards the end of the game there — take a moment to be able to see the guy who I looked up to my whole life, now playing football with my brother J.J.,” T.J. Watt said afterward. “Just to see him go to work on football field with my own eyes is something that I will never forget. I am truly grateful that I was able to share the field with my brothers today.”

T.J. got the better of the individual statistical matchup against big brother, having a sack, four quarterback hits and four solo tackles. J.J. had just one solo tackle and three assisted tackles.

“Someday we’ll look back, and it’ll be pretty cool,” J.J. said, “but right now, sitting at 0-3, it doesn’t feel that great. It’s a special thing for our family, but right now it’s about the Houston Texans and figuring out what we need to do to win a football game.”

Despite the win, it also wasn’t an ideal game for Derek Watt. He suffered a hamstring injury and did not play during the second half. Derek was used more than usual as a fullback during the first quarter, and, as he always does, played on all four core special teams units.

J.J. represented Houston for the coin toss. T.J. was out at the 50-yard line for the Steelers.

“For them to both be captains to go out there for the coin flip was awesome,” Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said, “and then to get to play in the NFL in a game like this is (memorable). J.J. was making plays, but T.J., the play he made was huge for us.”

Smith-Schuster was referring to a fourth-quarter sack of the Texans’ Deshaun Watson by T.J. It will be a play that, surely, NFL Films will highlight when it releases video of Sunday’s game. T.J. Watt revealed he wore a microphone during the game.

“There was a lot of build-up that went into this week and so much media,” Watt said. “Being mic’d up for the first time, I think you’ll find out how much of a boring person I am on the field. I don’t talk much.

“I just tried to soak (the brothers’ matchup) up as much as possible. It wasn’t a normal week. I think I would be remiss if I said it was.”