The impact Pittsburgh Steelers edge T.J. Watt had on their 18-10 win extended well beyond the boxscore. Watt wrecked the Atlanta Falcons gameplan and would have put together a truly elite stat line if not for a pair of penalties that negatived strip sacks.
At least one of those calls was completely bogus. Officials flagged Watt for an offsides on one of his big plays which upon review was shown to be just Watt being the best defensive player in the NFL and timing the snap so perfectly, officials couldn’t believe it.
Watt told NFL Network reporter Mike Garafolo after the game and talked about the play. Watt said the official that threw the flag came to him after halftime and said he watched it again and apologized for missing the call.
With #Steelers LB T.J. Watt after the win over the #Falcons that ended with his walk-off sack: “I think that was one of the first times in my life I had one, so I had to take a bow. I had to make sure there were no flags because of the other two.” pic.twitter.com/fZLhn58HNR
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 8, 2024
Even without those two strip sacks, Watt and the Steelers defense dominated the Falcons defense. Quarterback Kirk Cousins operated under constant duress and running back Bijan Robinson struggled to get any traction.
