4 takeaways from Steelers controversial game against Bears
By Tommy Jaggi
T.J. Watt is a one-man wrecking crew
Somehow T.J. Watt always finds himself in my takeaways from the game, but it’s hard to argue against such stand-out performances. Against an athletic rookie quarterback this week, Watt made sure that Justin Fields knew just what he was dealing with.
Watt racked up 7 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 tackles for a loss, and 3 quarterback hits as well as a batted pass in this contest. Statistically, it was his best performance of the season, and his dominance in Week 9 is going to put him right back in the Defensive Player of the Year discussion — even after missing a full game and three-quarters of another.
With his lethal combination of strength, athleticism, and relentless pursuit, T.J. Watt is an incredibly rare breed of football player who will very likely go down as one of Pittsburgh’s all-time great defenders at this rate. He now has 11.5 sacks and 11 tackles for a loss in less than 7 full games this year.
While the Steelers defense did give up 27 points, it’s important to remember that 7 of those came on a special teams touchdown after Ray-Ray McCloud fumbled. Still, this defense is very good, and Watt is largely the reason why.
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There are plenty of other things to take away from Pittsburgh’s Week 9 performance against the Chicago Bears, but these four things really stood out in this contest. Now sitting at 5-3, this team is hot and ready to pounce at the chance to reclaim the AFC North. The Steelers get the Lions next at Heinz Field in a game in which they will certainly be favored.