T.J. Watt injury: What happened to Steelers LB?
The Pittsburgh Steelers didn't just lose their pride in a sloppy Week 10. T.J. Watt suffered an injury in the fourth quarter that knocked him out of the game. Watt had three solo tackles, two-assist tackles, and a sack at the time of his injury.
Watt has been a defensive player of the year frontrunner alongside the likes of Myles Garrett. Watt has 11.5 sacks this season and is on pace for the best statistical season of his career. Mike Tomlin wasn't able to give an exact timetable for Watt after the game.
What injury did Steelers LB T.J. Watt pick up?
The official diagnosis for Watt is that he suffered a hip and knee injury. Mike Tomlin said after the game that Watt will undergo further evaluation to determine the severity of it.
Oh no, oh no. TJ Watt sacks Jared Goff and immediately grabbed for his knee. The #Steelers medical staff goes hustling out to the field.
The play was when the Steelers were losing to the Detroit Lions, 16 to 13. There were just 59 seconds left in the third quarter when Watt got hurt.
T.J. Watt's left knee collided with the right knee of teammate Joe Schobert. It was an accident, but Watt immediately went down. Watt was in severe pain on the field and was down for minutes.
TJ Watt's left knee injury. #Steelers https://t.co/x1TwmHx2Fp
Watt went into the blue medical tent for a few minutes. Although he was initially ruled questionable, Watt never returned to the game.
The Steelers missed Watt's presence in the fourth quarter and overtime periods. Although the defense still did a marvelous job shutting down Jared Goff, the Lions' rushing attack gained steam.
The Lions wound up with a whopping 229 yards pounding the rock, in large part due to Watt's absence. The Steelers defense as a whole struggled to tackle more than we're used to seeing. If Watt's injury is long-term, the Steelers could be in trouble.
The Steelers' defense isn't the same without T.J. Watt.
T.J. Watt is a Jenga piece of the Steelers defense. Watt had the third-most sacks of any NFL player since 2016. Compared to Garrett, Watt is having just as good of a season statistically.
Myles Garrett:
9 games played
33 tackles
12 sacks
12 TKL
0 FFs
1 PD
23 QB hits
TJ Watt:
6.5 games played
34 tackles
11.5 sacks
11 TKL
3 FFs
4 PD
18 QB hits
What’s the excuse now Browns fans?? https://t.co/Tnump0Aoqj
The Steelers defense has picked up the slack for Ben Roethlisberger's passing offense this season. T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Cameron Heyward are the strengths of the team.
Over the next two weeks, the Steelers face the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens. If Watt misses those games, Highsmith and Heyward will have to pick up his slack.
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