J.J. Watt on Leading NFL in Sacks with Brother T.J.: It's Always Been Competitive

Brothers J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans and T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for the NFL lead with six sacks through the first five weeks of the 2018 season, creating a battle the Steelers outside linebacker called "healthy competition."

On Wednesday, Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com provided comments from the Watt siblings, with the Texans defensive end ensuring fans they are "each other's biggest fans:"

"It's also been competitive. 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. 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."

Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins has also recorded six sacks to prevent a complete Watt family monopoly atop the leaderboard.

J.J.'s strong start doesn't come as a major surprise. He's healthy again after two straight injury-plagued seasons and showcasing the form he previously displayed while racking up 69 sacks across a four-year span beginning in 2012.

T.J. has a long way to go before reaching those type of heights. He finished his 2017 rookie year with seven sacks across 15 appearances.

While he's been a force off the edge for Pittsburgh so far this season, he believes another member of the family is enjoying the race more than J.J. or himself, per Barshop.

"I'm sure my mom thinks it's a lot cooler than I do," T.J. said. "She'll take a picture of it, and our names will be next to each other, and it will be cool for her."

Meanwhile, J.J. called their early-season success "incredible."

"We used to beat up on each other in backyard, and now we get to see our names at the top of the NFL sack charts," he said.

The brothers each get a chance to grab the lead in Week 6 when the Texans take on the Buffalo Bills and the Steelers go up against the Cincinnati Bengals.