Steelers Player of the Week vs Seahawks is no surprise
By Scott Long
In a tightly contested game, the Steelers needed someone to step up and TJ Watt did just that as he takes home the player of the week honors this week.
The Steelers entered Week 6 as favorites over the Seattle Seahawks at home with Geno Smith starting at quarterback and Russell Wilson injured. However, Seattle put up a fight and this game went into overtime, as the Seahawks dominated the second half — outscoring the Steelers 20-6 in the third and fourth quarters.
However, while the Seahawks were moving the ball on the first drive of overtime, Pittsburgh’s best player, T.J. Watt, stepped up. Watt’s sack on third down forced the Seahawks to punt on the first drive of overtime.
Watt didn’t stop there, as he broke away from a triple-team and recorded a strip-sack on Smith to get the ball back for the Steelers with 4:27 remaining in overtime. Watt’s strip-sack set the team up for Chris Boswell’s game-winning field goal.
T.J. Watt was an easy choice for Steelers Player of the Game
On the night, Watt finished with seven total tackles, six solo tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks, three pass deflections, and a forced fumble.
Per Pro Football Reference, Watt now sits at seven sacks on the season, despite missing a game due to an injury. He remains one of the league’s premier pass rushers and is on the shortlist of the best defensive players in the league.
While Watt was clearly the best player against the Seahawks, several other players had big games. Chris Boswell came up clutch again, going 3/3 on field-goal attempts, including a go-ahead field goal in regulation, and the 52-yard game-winner in overtime.
Additionally, Tre Norwood made the most of his limited snap count, stepping up with his best game of the campaign coming up with two key third-down stops in the first half. Finally, Cameron Heyward showed up yet again for Pittsburgh, totaling nine tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack.
While the game was much closer than the Steelers would’ve liked, they did come out on top and were able to get back to .500 entering their bye week.
Watt proved that big-time players make big-time plays in clutch moments tonight. He and the rest of the Steelers roster will look to keep the winning ways going in Week 8 against the Cleveland Browns, following their bye week.