The Atlanta Falcons took a 10-9 lead into halftime against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1. The Steelers could have had held the lead, but officials made a bad call against TJ Watt that erased a drive-ending strip sack late in the second quarter.
On first-and-10 from the 17 with less than a minute remaining in the quarter TJ Watt appeared to perfectly time the snap, get around right tackle Kaleb McGary and sack Kirk Cousins while causing a fumble. The Steelers recovered the ball, but the refs called Watt offside.
Judge for yourself.
I can’t believe they took away this strip sack pic.twitter.com/skFrVwaU4a
— Ock ☠︎︎ ‧₊˚. (@OcksWRLD) September 8, 2024
It looks like Watt moved at the exact same moment as the ball. He timed it so well that he was nearly in the backfield before anyone else on the Steelers defensive line even moved.
After the call erased the turnover, Watt was beside himself. He was seen intensely telling Mike Tomlim about it on the sideline and also took some times to scream at one of the referees.
TJ Watt is hot about the offsides call. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/ONvaZzuSnq
— David Todd (@DavidMTodd) September 8, 2024
The interaction with the official was shared on social media in slow motion and high definition by FOX.
T.J. Watt had some words for the ref after a strip sack was taken away due to an offsides penalty pic.twitter.com/dbRpOqSLlS
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 8, 2024
Kirk Cousins threw a touchdown pass on the very next play.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Steelers' TJ Watt Furious After Bad Offside Call Takes Away Perfectly Timed Strip Sack.
