Sunday afternoon in Atlanta to open the season against the Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers star pass rusher T.J. Watt did things that are common with him: wrecking the game.
Watt finished with four tackles, one sack, one fumble recovery and one tackle for loss against the run, putting together a rather outstanding day. The funny thing is, it could have been even more dominant with some competent officiating.
Watt had one sack taken away from him due to an illegal-hands-to-the-face penalty downfield on cornerback Donte Jackson on a third-down play. He also had a strip-sack of Atlanta’s Kirk Cousins late in the first half taken away for a bogus offsides penalty that the official later admitted to him he messed up.
But even with the two sacks taken away from him, Watt still had a monster day, one that NFL analyst Brian Baldinger highlighted Monday morning on Twitter. It included Watt’s game-sealing sack of Cousins to lift the Steelers to 1-0 on the season, a play that Baldinger called “closing time.”
“…Then with 13 seconds to go in the game, you know what time it is. It’s closing time. Last call for alcohol,” Baldinger said of Watt’s final pass rush, according to video via his Twitter page. “The fake two hands to the chest, and then the rip. Bang! Kirk Cousins, more rodeo action. More take downs, more game-changing plays.
“Closing the game out is what TJ did in this game.”
On the final snap of the game, Watt sacked Cousins and took a bow, sealing the win in impressive fashion for the Black and Gold.
Coming into the 2024 season, much of the hype regarding pass rushers in the NFL has centered on Cleveland’s Myles Garrett, Dallas’ Micah Parsons and Las Vegas’ Maxx Crosby. But on Sunday in Atlanta, Watt reminded the league who the top dog remains.
The overall stats might not look all that impressive but taking into context the game-changing plays he made, he’s off to a fast start in his bid for another Defensive Player of the Year award after being robbed last season by voters.
At this point in his career, performances like this from Watt aren’t surprising whatsoever. That doesn’t mean he should be taken for granted. When things get tight, Watt is going to make a play. It’s just what he does.
And it’s what he did on Sunday, coming up clutch time and time again to help the Steelers win on the road to get the 2024 season off to a good start. Put him in the DPOY conversations now.
