You had a feeling after his game-saving overtime performance that T.J. Watt would likely be the AFC Defensive Player of the Week and on Wednesday, the NFL made it official.
First Watt had a 13-yard sack of Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith that forced Seattle to punt in overtime.
On their next possession, Watt strip sacked Smith, allowing inside linebacker Devin Bush to recover, setting up a game-winning field goal from Chris Boswell.
Watt also had seven tackles (three for a loss) during the Week Six primetime showdown, along with three passes defended.
“I go for the ball,” Watt said Sunday. “As you can see, I got a penalty for punching at the ball tonight, but I’m always punching at the ball. It’s just something that I’m always aware of and try to be aware of in training camp, practice and especially when the quarterback is running with the football.”
“It’s never fully secured so I don’t know if in that moment if I saw it for it was, just muscle memory, but I’m glad it happened.”
“I loved the fourth quarter and overtime by TJ,” said Steelers defensive captain Cam Heyward. “All game he was like, ‘I’m just not hitting home’. I was like ‘it’s going to come. Keep staying after it, you are going to be great’.”
“When we needed it the most, he made his plays. What an emphatic play to end the game with a sack/strip fumble. We needed it. He’s a hell of a player.”
This season, Watt has seven sacks in the five games he’s played along with three forced fumbles.
While Watt may have not been involved as much as he would’ve liked through the entire game, he stepped up when it mattered most. That’s what superstars do.
In addition, former Steelers kicker Matthew Wright was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week with 11 points and three field goals.
Wright was first signed in 2019 but was cut at the end of Training Camp.
He re-signed with Pittsburgh in 2020 and played in three games for an injured Chris Boswell. He made every field goal and extra point he attempted but was placed on the practice squad after each game. His contract expired at the end of last season.