Cardinals Still Waiting for Breakout Game From J.J. Watt

Getty Arizona defensive end J.J. Watt celebrates during the Cardinals' 34-33 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, September 19, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

At 6-foot-5 and 288 pounds, J.J. Watt is an imposing figure who generally doesn’t blend in with a crowd.

Yet through two games with the Arizona Cardinals, the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year has been moderately disruptive at best and missing in action at worst. He’s had four tackles (all solo stops) — tied for ninth most on the team — and has yet to register a sack.

The Cardinals (2-0) are hoping that changes when they travel to Jacksonville, Florida, to take on the winless Jaguars (0-2). Kickoff is set for 10 a.m. MST Sunday, September 26, at TIAA Bank Field.

ALL the latest Cardinals news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Cardinals newsletter here!

Join Heavy on Cardinals!

Watt, 32, has fared well against the Jaguars in the past. During his 10 seasons with the Houston Texans, he totaled 17 sacks in 16 games against Jacksonville, with at least one sack in 10 of those games. He’s also had a trio of three-sack games against the Jaguars.

Watt was the Cardinals’ prize free-agent acquisition during the offseason. The five-time Pro Bowl selection signed a two-year deal with Arizona in March, becoming a central figure on a line that defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has called the deepest the team has had since he joined the Cardinals in 2019.

After getting off to a strong start against the Tennessee Titans, the Cardinals’ defense struggled early in Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings.

“We obviously didn’t play the way we wanted to in the first half of that game,” Watt told reporters Thursday, September 23. “We played a little better in the second half.”

After giving up 23 points before halftime, Arizona limited Minnesota’s offense to just three points in the second half. The Cardinals also did a better job stopping the run, holding Vikings running back Dalvin Cook to 35 yards on nine carries in the second half after giving up 96 yards on 13 carries by halftime.

“At halftime, we fixed it and became better,” Joseph said. “But in the first half, it wasn’t good enough.”

Despite the second-half turnaround, the Cardinals still needed a missed 37-yard field goal from Vikings kicker Greg Joseph to escape with the victory Sunday, September 19.

‘It Won’t Be Easy’ Against Trevor Lawrence

Nobody was pointing fingers of blame at Watt following the slow start against the Vikings, but statistically he took a step backward from Weeks 1 to 2.

Watt’s PFF grade after two games is 59.2 — his worst rating since a 56.6 score during an injury-plagued 2016 season that saw him play only three games. For comparison, the defensive end graded out at 85.4 in 2021 and 87 in 2020 in his final two seasons in Houston. Over his career, he’s had five seasons with grades above 90.

Watt’s PFF grade also dropped from 67.5 in the Cardinals’ 38-13 win over the Titans to 52.6 against the Vikings. He didn’t lay a hand on Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins (zero QB hits) and also missed a tackle in the Week 2 win.

Watt’s target this week, rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence, has been sacked just twice in the Jaguars’ first two games this season. The former Clemson star and the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, is averaging 225 passing yards per game, with four touchdowns and five interceptions.

“He’s got an incredible pedigree,” Watt said. “He’s an incredible talent. We want to make sure we do our job.”

Vance Joseph said Lawrence presents some challenges for the Cardinals, and despite the rookie QB’s struggles at times this season, they aren’t underestimating him.

“This quarterback is special,” he said. “He’s the top pick for a reason. He’s tall, he’s long, he can run, and he can make every throw. It won’t be easy.”

Kyler Murray Doesn’t Make It Easy Either

Watt credited QB Kyler Murray and the offense for keeping the Cardinals in the game early while the defense struggled to stop the Vikings.

“It’s great when a team has balance like that,” he said. “Because when we play poorly like we did in the first half last game, they keep us in it, they give us the opportunity, and they bail us out of tough situations.”

Inevitably, Watt said, the time will come when the “roles are flipped” and the defense returns the favor.

“When you have those abilities as a team, that’s when you really have a chance to do something special,” he said.

Murray is off to a sensational start in his third NFL season, averaging 335.5 passing yards per game and accounting for nine touchdowns (seven passing, two rushing) in two games. He collected the NFC Offensive Player of the Week award following his 400-yard, four-touchdown performance against the Vikings.

The speedy, 5-foot-10 quarterback also has frustrated defenses with his legs, turning broken plays into highlights with his scrambling and improvisation.

“I’m glad he’s my quarterback and I don’t have to chase him,” Watt said. “You sit there on the sideline and you watch him play, and he’s running all over the place. Then he chucks up a ball 55 yards to a wide-open guy.

“You know that the defensive lineman that just ran for 45 seconds straight is just watching the Jumbotron as the ball goes for a touchdown, and you’re just befuddled and p****d. I’m sitting on the sideline drinking Gatorade (and) very happy, so it’s great for me,” he said.