Not unexpectedly, Elias Sports Bureau made a stats correction Wednesday in the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday game against the Cleveland Browns that resulted in outside linebacker T.J. Watt not getting credit for one of the four quarterback sacks he was initially credited with in the contest.
The Steelers first sack of Browns quarterback Tyrod Taylor in that Sunday game took place on a 1st and 10 play from the Cleveland 14-yard-line with 7:39 left in the first quarter. Watt was given full credit by the game’s official scorer for that sack after hitting Taylor as he was falling to the ground immediately after the referee had blown the play dead.
If you look at the end zone view from the all-22 tape from that game, you’ll see that Steelers defensive tackle Javon Hargrave appeared to have had a momentary grip on Taylor prior to the quarterback finally pulling away and falling off to his right. It was at that falling away moment that the referee closest to the play signaled for the play to be over only moments before Watt hit the falling Taylor.
Watt, by the way, was penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness on that play for hitting Taylor after it was blown dead.
I posted a slow replay of this sack on Twitter on Tuesday and suggested that Hargrave would and should get full credit for the sack. Instead, Elias decide to split the sack between Hargrave and Watt.
UPDATED: Hargrave has now been given full credit for the sack.
Watt’s half full sack deduction on Wednesday means he only registered 3 sacks against the Browns. The Steelers 2017 first-round draft pick out of Wisconsin was named the AFC Defensive Player of the week for Week 1 on Wednesday.
