T.J. Watt shows no ill effects his limited camp practice time in Steelers’ win
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Neither of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive or defensive captains could help but joke about T.J. Watt’s performance Sunday.
“He’s fine,” defensive lineman Cameron Heyward said, eliciting laughs postgame.
Moments later, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger quipped: “It just shows that the preseason’s overrated, right?”
Watt was a force in the Steelers’ impressive 23-16 season-opening win at the Buffalo Bills. He had two sacks and was in on another. One of those sacks forced a fumble that led to a turnover. Watt also was credited with five QB hits and drew multiple holding penalties.
All this after he skipped team drills throughout the first seven weeks of training camp, limiting himself to no more than three practices with teammates leading up to the rigors of an NFL regular-season game — one on the road against a legitimate Super Bowl contender, no less.
“I felt fresh all week,” Watt said after the game. “(But) I didn’t want to get too confident with how I felt coming into a game atmosphere. Obviously, all the hype and adrenaline comes with it, but the three-man rotation that we have (at outside linebacker) with Alex (Highsmith) and Melvin (Ingram) is something that’s going to be really special.”
Watt played the majority of the Steelers’ defensive snaps. His workload was slightly reduced from his typical workload but not by a noticeable margin.
Speaking 48 hours before the game in the wake of the announcement of his new four-year contract extension that included $80 million in guaranteed money, Watt on Friday allowed that he might take himself out of the game more often than usual Sunday. That was an acknowledgement of questions about his “game shape” after limiting himself to individual drills during camp.
“He’s had a heck of a week, but not everybody can do what he does,” Heyward said. “And for him to go out there and handle it the way he handled and capitalize on it with a win like this, I’m pretty proud of him.”
Watt was the best player on a defense that forced four three-and-outs and permitted just one Buffalo drive that netted more than 40 yards. The Steelers twice stopped the Bills on fourth down and, in the fourth quarter, held them to field goals with the game on the line.
Watt was responsible for the game’s only turnover when he slapped the ball out of Pro Bowl quarterback Josh Allen’s hands as he rolled out while looking to throw on a third down in the second quarter. Heyward recovered.
It was the most conspicuous play Watt made Sunday, but it was far from the only time he was disrupting Allen and the Bills’ offense.
“He does a great job of capitalizing on what the offense gives him,” Heyward said. “He understands when his number’s called and he’s going to get single coverage and they leave him on an island with one guy, he’s going to make them pay.”
Bag secured. ????????
TJ Watt earning that extension with a strip-sack on Josh Allen! ⛓
(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/6UNxxQMyrU
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 12, 2021
Watt made the Steelers pay — literally, as in, the organization had to pay him lots of money. And while his absence from practice in a purported attempt to avoid injury could have turned awkward with his teammates — they did, after all, decline to vote him a captain — publicly they offered him a strong backing.
He repayed that loyalty with his performance Sunday.
“He was (at practice) every day (during camp),” Roethlisberger said. “I give T.J. credit for that. He didn’t have to be. But he was here every day. He worked every day.
“We expect that from him. He expects that from himself. His conditioning was good. He wreaks havoc on the offense, and that’s why he is and should be the highest paid defensive player (in the NFL).”
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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