The Steelers played like a new team after their bye week with the return of T.J. Watt to the lineup. Here is how fans reacted to the Steelers win over the Saints.
The Pittsburgh Steelers stepped up to the plate in their Week 10 matchup against the Saints as their defensive star, T.J. Watt returned from injury. Watt made his presence known early and often — including some key stops on pivotal short-yardage plays. Watt recorded 4 tackles upon his return, but his hustle and impact couldn’t be measured.
The energy generated from the return of Watt was contagious on the defense. Damontae Kazee and Levi Wallace both had key interceptions that fueled the crowd at Acrisure Stadium. But no one had a bigger impact on this game than T.J. Watt.
Here’s how some fans and writers reacted to Watt’s spectacular game as well as other standout performances against the Saints:
This tweet rings true as fans experienced the struggle the team undergoes when Watt isn’t on the field. After an earlier pass interference call, Kazee made up for his penalty with a highlight interception.
Damontae Kazee gets the interception. No real surprise that he makes a play. He's been known as a ballhawk his whole career.
— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) November 13, 2022
The following interception by Wallace created a spark that allowed the offense to continue to manage the game clock. Kenny Pickett led the offense to another first-quarter touchdown. The rookie sensation George Pickens took a jet sweep handoff right up the middle for the first touchdown of the game.
Is George Pickens the best offensive player on the Steelers?
— Mike Nicastro (@MikedUpSports1) November 13, 2022
After a mediocre first half of the season, Najee Harris finally found his stride in the run game. Harris broke out for some long runs and the fans finally saw the running back they drafted.
Najee Harris appears to have remembered he’s physically the most powerful man on the field. That’s promising.
— Kevin Adams (@KevinAdams26) November 13, 2022
Najee Harris up to 75 yards rushing. Season high for him. Still one quarter to go. #Steelers
— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) November 13, 2022
With numerous red zone trips, the Steelers didn’t score as many touchdowns as fans expected. But they moved the ball down the field fluidly enough to create some hope of better scoring to come.
Looks like the tape job helped Pickett out and Harris looked like the guy Steelers fans came to love last year. But again, the offense doesn’t know how to finish consistently.
— Matt Michelone (@MattMichelone) November 13, 2022
One fan shared a rather interesting stat regarding the coach that has never had a losing season.
MIKE TOMLIN HAS FINALLY BEAT EVERY TEAM IN THE NFL!
— Jared Kane (@BaddestBearJew) November 13, 2022
Congratulations Coach!
If this happens to be the year that Mike Tomlin suffers his first losing season then at least he has this stat to hang his hat on. The Steelers showed a ton of promise in today’s win over the Saints. Maybe this season isn’t too far gone.