Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt sure has a knack for making game-changing plays.
Coming out of the half with the Steelers trailing 9-3 after a rather embarrassing first 30 minutes of action, the Steelers needed a spark.
They turned to their defense to provide it.
Watt, dropping into coverage over the middle of the field, read Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford perfectly and stepped in front of a crossing route to pick off the pass, returning it inside the 10-yard line. That set up an eventual Kenny Pickett 1-yard rushing touchdown, giving the Steelers a 10-9 lead.
After the game, Watt described what he saw and how he made the play for his seventh career interception.
“Just eyes on the quarterback, able to see him kind of work his way back to my side of the field and was able to just jump in front and make a play on the ball,” Watt said to reporters postgame, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page.
Entering Week Seven against the Rams, Watt had dropped into coverage just 17 times on the season, according to Pro Football Focus. In those pass-coverage reps, Watt had been targeted three times, allowing two receptions for 32 yards.
Opening up the second half against the Rams, Watt dropped in the middle of the field and quickly got eyes on Stafford, who was working across the formation looking for success on a crossing route once again. The Rams had great success against the Steelers in the first half on crossers and were looking for something similar to open up the second half.
That’s when Watt stepped in and made a play, looking like a defensive back, as his older brother, J.J., stated on Twitter.
Asked after the game if him dropping into coverage on that play was a way the Steelers were looking to combat the crosser success the Rams were having early on, Watt downplayed the significance of the call, stating that he just made a play, period.
“I would like to say yes [anticipation of a crossing route], but no. I mean, I was just doing my job, honestly,” Watt said to reporters, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “Yeah, there wasn’t too much into it. I was just QB keying and looking at the football and it came my way and I made a play on it.”
Watt’s big play was the spark the Steelers needed.
Three plays later, Pickett snuck into the end zone from a yard out, giving the Steelers a 10-9 lead. Though the Rams eventually took a 17-10 lead later in the third quarter, the Steelers were able to start combating some of the crossing route success, forcing the Rams to hold the football a bit longer in the passing game. That allowed Pittsburgh to tee off as a pass-rushing unit, allowing the defense to keep the Steelers in the game until Pittsburgh came alive offensively in the fourth quarter.
Watt made a play — and a big one. He has a tendency of doing those things. This time though, it was in coverage.
“I’m not gonna go into depth with it, but they had a nice coverage call for what we had going,” Stafford said following the loss. “That being said, I gotta be smart with the ball. Make sure we end drives with kicks.”
