The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in a shootout last Sunday, winning 44-38 on the road. While the defense couldn’t keep a lid on the Bengals’ offense, it did manage to make a ton of splash plays, including putting points on the board for Pittsburgh.
OLB T.J. Watt led a defense that sacked QB Joe Burrow four times, tying his season-high in sacks with two while totaling three tackles (all for loss), five quarterback hits, and a forced fumble.
THE FILM
One thing that specifically stuck out from this game is that Watt took several snaps at right outside linebacker, leaving his more natural left side. Watt has mentioned that he has had to account for opposing offenses attempting to scheme around him to try diminishing his impact. So the switch came as a means to try and find more one-on-one matchups for Watt.
Watt didn’t log either of his sacks on the right side, but he still managed to provide some pressure from there on a couple of plays like the one shown below. Watt uses power to push Orlando Brown Jr. back into the pocket, ripping through the left tackle’s outside shoulder. He joins DL Cameron Heyward as they put pressure on Burrow, who manages to throw the ball away.
Watt recorded all three of his tackles on the left side, one coming as a tackle for loss against the run while the other two were sacks. On his run stop, we see Watt set the edge against rookie RT Amarius Mims, keeping his outside arm and leg free. Watt then rips off the block and shoots inside as RB Chase Brown takes the handoff, getting bottled up in the backfield by Watt and several other Steelers defenders for a loss.
As mentioned above, Watt and the Steelers are trying to find more ways for him to avoid getting double teamed as a pass rusher and give him more one-on-one opportunities. While both of Watt’s sacks came from him lining up on the left side, the clip below shows Watt utilizing a stunt by the defense to loop around and find a gap between the left tackle and left guard. He gets into the pocket to team up with DL Keeanu Benton for the sack that was credited to Watt.
Watt’s biggest play of the afternoon came as a rusher off the left side, forcing a strip sack on Burrow that OLB Preston Smith recovers. Watt initially starts the rep one-on-one with TE Drew Sample before LG Cody Ford comes over, allowing Sample to break off into the flat. However, Ford can’t stay in front of Watt. He redirects as Burrow looks to escape the pocket, forcing a fumble as Burrow gets into the open field. The ball is initially recovered by LB Payton Wilson before losing it himself, but Smith falls on the ball and secures the Steelers takeaway.
Watt now has 9.5 sacks through 12 games. While many have considered 2024 to be a down year for Watt, who normally is atop the leaderboard when it comes to sacks, his presence still is being felt on a weekly basis. He is drawing double teams on a majority of plays, commanding the focus of opposing offenses, which gives other pass rushers their opportunities.
Still, Watt is only two sacks away from the top spot, and with five games left in the season, he should have a good shot at making up ground while dabbling more on the right side over the next several weeks.
