The Pittsburgh Steelers are riding high heading into their Week 9 bye week as they have won their last two contests at home. A big reason for those victories is the defense, which has done a good job of keeping points off of the board and creating turnovers. The stifling unit has been bolstered by some new faces, but it has been TJ Watt leading the charge. Undrafted rookie Beanie Bishop Jr. has also impressed, as he has recorded three interceptions over the last two games.
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Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker TJ Watt enters the field at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA.
Watt is one of the best game-wreckers in the entire NFL. He is the only player in NFL history to lead the league in sacks in three separate seasons, so obviously he is the focal point for many opposing offenses. Opposing coaches always try to scheme up ways to freeze Watt out of the game; most of the time that is done by keeping a wide receiver or tight end next to the right tackle to chip Watt. In Pittsburgh's Monday night victory over the New York Giants, New York was chipping Watt as much as possible.
The Giants recovered a fumble by the Steelers while they were down just eight points and there was under five minutes left in the game. New York had good field position and it seemed like they may tie the game up. Watt wouldn't allow that to happen as he recorded a strip-sack on Daniel Jones, which essentially cost the Giants the game. Head Coach Brian Daboll was asked what happened on that play during his postgame press conference.
"He [Jones] was going, you know, high pressure situation," Daboll said. "We had a shift with the tight end for him to get back over to Watt, and we didn't get the shift. We talked about it in the locker room. You know, DJ feels terrible to be honest with you. And I know he is going to own it."
Jones was too focused on reading the coverage of the defense that he forgot to motion his tight end to the right side of the formation so he could help the right tackle deal with Watt. In result, Watt just had to beat the right tackle, which resulted in essentially a free run at Jones. Watt swatted the ball out his hands with ease, and then jumped on the live ball.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' TJ Watt during Week 7 of 2024 against the New York Jets on Sunday Night Football.
Pittsburgh didn't score any points off of the turnover, but it allowed the offense to run the ball and eat some clock. Pittsburgh ran five plays and took just over a minute off of the clock, while the Giants used all of their timeouts. Pittsburgh then punted and pinned New York inside their own 10-yard line. Had Watt not come through and gotten that strip-sack, there was a good chance the Giants would have been able to score and tie the game up with just over two minutes remaining.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith celebrate during a Week 8 win over the New York Giants.
Steelers' TJ Watt Made Jermaine Eluemunor Eat His Words
Earlier in the week, Giants right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor made headlines when he said he wanted to be on an island with Watt on Monday night, meaning he didn't think he needed any help when going up against the All-Pro outside linebacker. Obviously this was a bold statement from the offensive lineman as Watt is one of the best players in the entire league. Watt wound up recording two sacks in the game, with one of which being the coveted strip-sack.
Eluemunor probably regrets his earlier statement, as this is the second-straight season where Watt was able to record multiple sacks while going against the right tackle.
What do you think about Watt's sack being the result of an error from Jones? Let us know in the comments below!
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