The Pittsburgh Steelers protection started the season Sunday seeming to be a vulturous power, and ruling Guarded Player of the Year T.J. Watt was the boss disruptor.
Then, at that point, Watt strolled off harmed in the final quarter, his left arm hanging flaccidly at this side, stirring up misgivings about when Pittsburgh could look so fearsome once more.
Watt experienced a pectoral injury in the final quarter of a 23-20 extra time prevail upon the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
The Steelers didn’t give many subtleties after the game. Mentor Mike Tomlin said just that “T.J. has been assessed with a chest area injury.”
The 27-year-old Watt got injured in the disappearing minutes of guideline. He bull-surged his far beyond Cincinnati right tackle La’el Collins — ripping Collins’ cap off simultaneously, a punishment that gave the Bengals a first down — and afterward hopped on top of Bengals quarterback Joe Tunnel. Tunnel dodged under Watt and figured out how to move the ball away, and Watt’s left arm went still as Tunnel evaded his grip.
Watt was welcomed by Dr. James Bradley, the group doctor, as he advanced off the field. He went directly to the storage space and didn’t return. Pittsburgh later finished a three-game long string of failures to the Bengals on the last play of extra time.
The three-time All-Star didn’t address columnists postgame, however he was in the storage space. He is supposed to go through additional testing and assessment on Monday.
“I won’t guess what’s going and the way in which awful the injury is,” cautious tackle Cam Heyward said. “Yet, you know having T.J. out there most certainly helps us. He’s a chief. He’s a protective player here. However lengthy it takes, different folks will move forward.”
One of the NFL’s tip top edge rushers, Watt was at his problematic best in Cincinnati, terminating Tunnel once and taking out a miss in the primary quarter that set Mitch Trubisky’s 2-yard TD pass to Najee Harris to give Pittsburgh a 17-3 lead.
Losing Watt would be a colossal disaster for the Steelers, who should depend on their protection while attempting to get their offense on target. Watt tied the NFL single-season sacks record with 22 1/2 last season in spite of missing two games.
In the event that Watt tore his pectoral muscle, he probably would miss expanded time and possibly the season. His more seasoned sibling J.J. Watt tore a pec in the 2019 season while playing for Texas and missed two months. Heyward, his long-term partner, missed the last part of the 2016 season subsequent to tearing a pec, and previous Steeler protective end Stephon Tuitt missed the last 10 rounds of the 2019 season in the wake of tearing a pec in a success over the Chargers.
The Steelers are slight behind Watt at outside linebacker. Alex Highsmith — who likewise left the game on Sunday with a physical issue — is the main other external linebacker on the program who has invested broadened energy in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers procured reinforcement Malik Reed in an exchange with Denver last month and guaranteed Jamir Jones off waivers on Sept. 1 after he was delivered by Jacksonville daily before. Jones put in a couple of months with Pittsburgh in 2021 preceding being delivered last September.
Jones and Reed were credited with three joined handles against the Bengals.
Watt has been strong during his five-year profession, missing only three games because of injury. With him, the Steelers have a guard with tip top players at each of the three levels, in Watt, Heyward and wellbeing Minkah Fitzpatrick. Without him, Pittsburgh’s offense under first-year quarterback Mitch Trubisky could have to speed up the expectation to learn and adapt.
That may be troublesome without Harris, who left in the final quarter subsequent to harming his left foot. The foot was vigorously wrapped postgame. Reinforcement Jaylen Warren, who procured the work after a heavenly instructional course, ran for 7 yards on three conveys in his NFL debut.
The Steelers have New Britain (0-1) next Sunday.
