Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is on the verge of something no Buccaneer has done since 2005, which is to post a double-digit sack season. The last Tampa Bay player to accomplish that feat was the legendary Simeon Rice in 2005 when he recorded 14 sacks before a shoulder injury in 2006 ended his time in red and pewter.

There have been a few Buccaneers that have come close. Defensive end Michael Bennett had nine sacks in 2012. Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy had 9.5 sacks the next year, followed by 8.5 sack seasons in 2013 and in ’14.

Thanks to collecting 1.5 sacks against his former team, the New York Giants, last week, Pierre-Paul now has 9.5 sacks with six games to go. I asked Pierre-Paul how it feels to be on the verge of ending the Curse of Simeon Rice and becoming a double-digit sacker this season, which he has done twice in his career.

“It feels great, man,” Pierre-Paul said. “I think last year I ended up with 8.5 sacks, and I’m already past that. I think I got 10 – [the statisticians] just didn’t turn it in. But I’m already excited for that. I say that all the time that I’m never satisfied, so I’m just going to keep going past that. But I will appreciate that I was able to do that, and that’s a pretty good moment.”

Bucs DE Jason Pierre-Paul – Photo by: Mary Holt/PR

Fighting through knee, shoulder and hand injuries, Pierre-Paul hasn’t missed a game, and has had at least one sack in seven of the Bucs’ 10 contests this year, including two against Pittsburgh and two against Cincinnati. The last time Pierre-Paul reached double digit sacks occurred in 2014 when he notched 12.5 quarterback captures. His career high is 16.5 sacks, which happened in 2011, his second season in the league after being the Giants’ first-round pick in 2010.

When asked if he felt like this is one of his better seasons, Pierre-Paul simply said no.

“Well, this is how I feel every year,” Pierre-Paul said. “It’s a passing league now, man. We’re in the best division and they throw the ball more. You have more options, read-option crap. That’s how it is. That’s football, man, everybody’s got to work together to get it done. If getting double-digit sacks were easy, everybody would be doing it.

“I’ll say as far as individually, I’m doing great and I just go out there and give it my all. I feel like I have no worries that I played a great game, but I have worries of what can I do better. I feel like if you can feel that way every time, even after a win, individually you’ll feel fine.”

Pierre-Paul’s 9.5 sacks rank ninth in the NFL, trailing Seattle’s Frank Clark, Denver’s Von Miller, Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt and Houston’s J.J. Watt, who all have 10, in addition to Arizona’s Chandler Jones (10.5), Minnesota’s Danielle Hunter (11.5) and the league’s current sack leader, Los Angeles Rams’ Aaron Donald (14.5).

Pro Bowl voting recently began, and Pierre-Paul is at a disadvantage of making it for several reasons. The first is the Bucs’ 3-7 record, followed by the fact that Tampa Bay won’t be on national television for the last six games of the season. Also, Pierre-Paul currently ranks fourth among NFC defensive ends behind Hunter, Jones and Clark when it comes to sacks, and Dallas’ Demarcus Lawrence (8.5) and New Orleans’ Cameron Jordan (eight) are closing in fast, and play on teams with better records and will be featured on national TV down the stretch.

Pierre-Paul doesn’t compete against other defensive ends’ sack numbers – only his own. And his personal goals don’t include making the Pro Bowl, anyways.

“I feel like with those guys, they’re winning, so they’re more talked about, but at the same time I don’t really look at what other people are doing,” Pierre-Paul said. “I just go with the flow. If it’s meant for me, then it’s meant for me – if it’s, not then it’s not.

Bucs DE Jason Pierre-Paul – Photo by: Mary Holt/PR

“I think the Pro Bowl’s a joke, man. Even J.J. Watt said that as well. I believe that, too. I’ve been one of the top elite defensive ends in the league, but at the end of the day, I don’t worry about that. I play to get in the playoffs. I’m try to get to that next championship. Making the Pro Bowl this year is not really my top priority. I’m trying to get to the playoffs because if we get to the playoffs again, I know that’s special because now you’re in the race. And that’s what I want to feel.”

Whether he wants to go or not, Pierre-Paul, whom general manager Jason Licht acquired in a trade for a third-pick in March, is having a Pro Bowl-caliber season for the Bucs and is one of the few bright spots in a grim 3-7 season thus far.

“Jason’s been our most productive and our most consistent player on defense,” Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter said. “He plays extremely hard. He’s fought through multiple injuries and continues to do that to play. He’s set the standard very high for everybody else on defense – for everybody on our football team really, from an effort and fighting through injuries standpoint. JPP, individually, is having a good season.”

If the Bucs wouldn’t have to spend the fourth quarter playing from behind and could actually be ahead in the fourth quarter, imagine how many more sack opportunities JPP would have this year? Instead, Tampa Bay is usually trailing and forced to play catch-up, while its opponents are running the football more in the fourth quarter, trying to run out the clock and preserve a lead.

“I would like that, too, as a defensive end,” Pierre-Paul said. “Obviously, you’ve got to stop the run first before any of that can happen. I’m having a great career right now, and like you said, I’m on pace for beating the record or breaking the curse. But I don’t look at it that. I’m just out there having fun. I just think that’s where it’s at – have fun with it, and they just come in bunches.”

Pierre-Paul is aiming for a bunch of sacks this weekend against San Francisco quarterback Nick Mullens, but his first sack on Sunday will be quite an accomplishment – and would end the Curse of Simeon Rice that has plagued the Bucs defense for the past 13 years.