It's a point that can't ever be overstated: Many football players play with bumps, bruises, tears, breaks and ailments that might render someone less tough useless.
Today's example comes from the league's best defensive player, J.J. Watt, who offered a glimpse at the thigh injury he suffered on Sept. 28 in a tweet today.
Throwback to when this happened in the 1st half of the Bills game... pic.twitter.com/2Jspelyjnw
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) May 21, 2015Watt suffered this injury in the middle of one of his best games of the season. He set a personal record with nine quarterback hits on the Buffalo Bills' then-starting quarterback EJ Manuel and intercepted one of Manuel's passes, returning it for one of his five 2014 touchdowns.
It was a chippy game. Watt was hit with two roughing-the-passer penalties and he was also the recipient of some "creative" blocking from the Bills that frustrated him some.
"I was upset," Watt said. "I get personal fouls called against me all day. I get some extracurriculars done to me, and I don’t see repercussions on the other side, but that’s fine. That’s kind of how the game goes when you try to play the way I play. The guy on the other team is gunning for you and trying to rile you up."
Ultimately, a Bills offensive lineman was also fined for unnecessary contact with Watt.
The bruise lingered long after the game ended. The Houston Texans' star did get a few days off from practice to help it heal, but never missed a game or a planned snap because of it. The game in which he sustained it marked an early piece of Watt's historic season -- one that ultimately garnered him 13 MVP votes and his second Defensive Player of the Year award.
