At this point in the career of Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt, one that is on a Hall of Fame pace, it’s no secret that he seems to find another level to his game when it comes to AFC North football.
That continued on Sunday afternoon at Acrisure Stadium. The 2021 Defensive Player of the Year came through in a big way, dragging down Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson on the Steelers’ final defensive play of the game, sealing a wild 17-10 win over the rival Ravens, sending Pittsburgh into the bye week on a high note.
Watt’s sack capped a terrific day for the Steelers’ star as he finished with two sacks and a fumble recovery, recording three total tackles and a batted pass at the line of scrimmage as well.
It’s become a usual occurrence for Watt when it comes to the Ravens. In fact, he now sits just 2.0 sacks behind James Harrison for the most sacks all-time by any player against Baltimore, according to Next Gen Stats, and he’s done it in half the games.
Watt now has 14.0 sacks against the Ravens in 13 games. The Steelers are 9-4 in those 13 games. Harrison has the most sacks all-time against the Ravens with 16.0 and he did it in 27 career games with the Steelers recording a 13-14 record in those games.
For Watt, 8.5 of the 14.0 sacks against the Ravens have come in the last five matchups as he’s found a new level to his game.
Dating back to his Defensive Player of the Year season in 2021 in which he tied the NFL’s single-season sacks record, Watt had a 3.5-sack game in Week 12 of that season, which was a 20-19 win over the Ravens at then-Heinz Field. Watt then followed it up in Week 17 of that season with a sack, tying the single-season sacks record in the process.
Last season, after battling with injuries that saw him miss seven games with a partially torn pectoral muscle and then being slowed by a rib injury, Watt had a sack in the Week 13 and the Week 16 matchups against Baltimore. Then there was Sunday against the Ravens.
Facing an ideal matchup with Ravens starting right tackle Morgan Moses sidelined with a shoulder injury, Watt found himself going up against swing offensive lineman Patrick Mekari early in the game. He recorded a sack against Mekari in the first half, and then took advantage against backup Daniel Faalele after Mekari left the game with an injury.
Watt called game against Faalele on the Ravens’ 4th and 10. As usual with Watt, he was able to dip low and get underneath the big man in Faalele and was able to avoid a chip from Baltimore running back Justice Hill, giving him a clean lane to Jackson. He dragged him down for the sack and forced the turnover on downs, calling game for Pittsburgh.
After having just one sack in the first four matchups of his career against the Ravens, which was a chase down strip-sack of quarterback Joe Flacco in Week 13 of his rookie season in 2017, Watt has had at least half a sack in every game against the Ravens since.
He’s now just two sacks away from tying Harrison for quarterback takedowns against the Ravens. He’s already surpassed Harrison once in the record books this season. Could he do it again in Week 18 on the road at M&T Bank Stadium to close out the regular season?
