HOUSTON -- Texans defensive end J.J. Watt hasn't played in a football game that counted since Dec. 28, 2014.

To say he's anxious, well...

"That would be the understatement of the century," Watt said. "It’s like an animal in the cage. You rattle the cage and hope they unlock it. Maybe the lock falls off; you hope somehow you’re gonna get out of the cage.

J.J. Watt equated himself to an animal in a cage, waiting for Sunday's season opener. Scott Halleran/Getty Images

"I think on Sunday they’re going to finally open up the cage for me and I can’t wait. I’m pretty hungry."

That pent-up aggression isn't good news for a Chiefs offensive front that gave up sacks on 9.9 percent of their pass attempts last season, the third-highest tally in the NFL. Watt had 20.5 sacks and a league-high 30.5 disrupted dropbacks last season. Disrupted dropbacks include sacks, passes defensed, batted balls and interceptions.

Last night on "Hard Knocks," we saw how excited Bill O'Brien was at the potential for the Texans defense. Watt feels similarly.

"I can't wait," Watt said. "I can't wait to play real football with this defense in a game with our home crowd. ... I've been trying to tell some of the new guys, you've got Rahim and Vince, what the atmosphere is like on a Sunday. You can't even put it into words. ...

"We can't wait to get out there and help electrify our fans. Our defense has a lot of playmakers on it. We can't wait to get out there together and make plays."