Pittsburgh Steelers WR Calvin Austin III has been named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 8 of the 2024 season. He earned the honors for his 73-yard punt return touchdown to help the Steelers beat the New York Giants, 26-18, moving Pittsburgh to 6-2 going into its bye week.
He’s not the only Steelers taking home an AFC honor. T.J. Watt has also been named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his two-sack performance against the Giants, including a critical strip-sack that helped preserve a late lead.
Austin’s return was a game changer, the first touchdown that stood in that game. It gave the Steelers a 16-9 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
It was Austin’s first punt-return score of his NFL career. And it was the Steelers’ first punt-return score in five years, the last one coming on Diontae Johnson’s touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals in 2019.
Austin had a big day overall, responsible for both of Pittsburgh’s touchdowns. After his punt return, he added a 29-yard touchdown catch to extend the team’s lead even further. He finished the day with three receptions for 54 yards and that score along with his punt-return touchdown.
He is the second Steeler to be named AFC Special Team Player of the Week this season, joining K Chris Boswell, who was honored in Week 1. Boswell went 6-for-6 and put up all 18 of Pittsburgh’s points in the team’s Wek 1 win against the Atlanta Falcons. Austin is the first Steelers returner to win the award since Johnson did thanks to his punt-return score in 2019.
On the season, Austin has recorded 14 receptions for 257 yards and two touchdowns. As a punt returner, he’s averaging 12.9 yards on 16 returns, third-best in the NFL this year.
Watt finished the game with seven tackles (two for a loss), two QB hits, a forced fumble, and fumble recovery. His biggest play was ripping the ball out of QB Daniel Jones’ hands late in the fourth quarter, giving the ball back to the Steelers just moments after QB Russell Wilson fumbled it away. The play kept the Steelers in front with a 26-18 advantage.
It’s the eighth time Watt has won the award and the first since Week 18 of 2023. He also won it three times in 2021, once in 2020, and twice in 2018. So much for not doing a “damn thing,” according to Giants RT Jermaine Eluemunor.
Per the NFL’s press release, Watt now has the second-most Player of the Week Awards in Steelers’ history. Only QB Ben Roethlisberger’s 18 has more. T.J. Watt now has won more such award than big brother J.J. Watt had in his career.
With the win, the Steelers hold a firm AFC North lead. At 6-2, they have a leg up on the 5-3 Baltimore Ravens, though the two teams have yet to face each other this season. They’ll first meet in Week 11, one of four-straight divisional games Pittsburgh will play.
It was an AFC North centric type of week with the AFC Offensive Player of the Week going to Cleveland Browns QB Jameis Winston, who threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns in an upset win over the Baltimore Ravens. It was his first start after Deshaun Watson’s season-ending Achilles injury.
