Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt announced on Sunday morning that he had to have his heart shocked back to a healthy rhythm on Thursday after doctors found he was in atrial fibrillation on Wednesday, but he still played and had a big hand in the team’s 26-16 win over the Panthers.
Watt said he was “assured” by multiple doctors that he was fine to play in the game and the Cardinals were happy to have him when he batted a Baker Mayfield pass that linebacker Dennis Gardeck intercepted to set up a fourth quarter touchdown. After the game, an emotional Watt said that he was “thankful to be out there with” his teammates and broke down briefly while talking about the impending arrival of his son.
“It’s been a week . . . When they told me they were going to put me out and shock my heart, I was scared,” Watt said.
Watt’s announcement came because he heard that there was going to be a report about his visit with doctors, which frustrated him because the only people who knew about were people he did not expect to share the information.
“The only people that knew are people I should trust. Injuries, I don’t care, you can leak injuries. That’s football. This one was very emotional for me so it upset me,” Watt said.
Watt had three tackles and batted down another pass in addition to the one that Gardeck picked off during the win.