Texans DE J.J. Watt has been one of the best players in the NFL this year, regardless of position. On Sunday, he will have the chance to tie or set the single-season sacks record.

Watt enters Sunday’s game against the Colts with 20.5 sacks, two shy of Michael Strahan’s record of 22.5 sacks set in 2001.

“I think it’d be great,” Texans coach Gary Kubiak said of the record. “It’d be a heck of a deal for him. It’d be well-deserved for the defensive group and everybody. I think it’s something that has to come along with winning so we’re focused on trying to go play well and win a game. That’d be awesome.”

Not only has Watt impacted the game through sacks, he has been a part of 89 plays that have resulted in zero or negative yards. His 15 passes defended are the most of all defensive linemen, and he is the only player in NFL history with at least 15 sacks and 15 passes defended in the same season.

“What’s he’s done already is better than anybody’s done in I don’t know, a long, long time that I can remember,” Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said. “I haven’t seen a guy play like this.”

In Week 15 against the Colts, Watt had his best game of the season, registering three sacks to go along with 10 tackles and six tackles for loss. A similar sack output Sunday would give him the record.

“He’s had a tremendous year,” Phillips said. “Whether he can get a few more sacks or not, I don’t know. You know he’s going to give the effort to make plays no matter what it is.”

With or without the sacks record, Watt will certainly see the individual accolades roll in. He was already named to his first Pro Bowl earlier this week.

“I am just a 23 year old kid trying to take it all in, trying to do my best and trying to prove that I can be one of the best in this game,” Watt said. “It’s crazy. Some day I’m going to sit back in a recliner and think about it and be like, ‘That was pretty cool.’ For right now, I’ve got too many things to work towards, too many goals to achieve. I don’t really have time to sit back and reflect.”

Quick Hits

  • TE Owen Daniels (hamstring) and CB Alan Ball (foot) did not practice Thursday. Kubiak said he expects Daniels to play Sunday while Ball should be ready for the playoffs next week.
  • RB Arian Foster had to leave Sunday’s game against the Vikings with an irregular heartbeat, but he has been fine this week during practice. “Any time you’re dealing with a vital organ like the heart, it’s serious,” Foster said. “My condition, it’s very minor, as minor as you can get with a heart. I’m not worried about it. I talked to my doctors and they assured me everything is going to be fine. It’s nothing to worry about.”
  • The Texans had eight players selected for the Pro Bowl on Wednesday. “That’s pretty cool,” Kubiak said. “First off, I’m happy for them. I’m proud of them. That’s a compliment to the whole team.”

Follow Texans blogger Sean Bielawski on Twitter, @CBSTexans.