PITTSBURGH – T.J. Watt felt the acquainted and nevertheless indescribable jolt the moment he emerged from the tunnel.
Two months spent standing at the sideline at the same time as his torn left pectoral muscle healed deprived the Pittsburgh big name linebacker of the lifeblood that sustains him and the Steelers of a player that may trade the arcs of video games, if not entire seasons.
No surprise Watt took a second on Sunday to take pleasure in a second that regarded a ways away at some stage in his prolonged rehab, one which now not coincidentally was in lockstep together with his team’s worst start in eight years.
“You want you could freeze time for simply one 2d,” Watt said.
That may be beyond Watt’s manage. Some thing far extra attainable is the method the Steelers rediscovered in opposition to New Orleans, one they desire could serve as the muse of a 2nd-1/2 push.
Kenny Pickett and George Pickens ran for 1-backyard touchdowns and Pittsburgh’s rejuvenated protection — the only with Watt’s No. 90 over again a blur coming off the brink — close down the Saints past due in a 20-10 victory that furnished gas to Watt’s perception there’s nevertheless time for the Steelers to make something out of 2022.
“I’m here to make plays and assist make a distinction in the game,” stated Watt, who had four tackles and a quarterback hit. “that is what i’m going to keep to try and do.”
Any route Pittsburgh (three-6) navigates to be a aspect down the stretch in reality relies on Watt’s presence. The Steelers’ win over New Orleans (3-7) looked a bit like their Week 1 dissatisfied in Cincinnati, whilst the protection produced sacks and turnovers with startling regularity.
Then Watt went down and matters quickly went sideways. Pittsburgh’s performance in opposition to the sputtering Saints felt like a welcome return to normalcy.
“(TJ) continues to be that man,” stated out of doors linebacker Alex Highsmith, whose sacks boosted his season total to 8 half. “It was exciting to have him back. We understand what kind of defense we can be (with him). We just need to build on it.”
It wasn’t just the defense that rediscovered its identification. Pittsburgh ran for a season-high-quality 217 yards — consisting of 99 by Najee Harris and 51 through Pickett — and didn’t flip it over for the third time this season. The Steelers are 3-0 in those games.
Pickett finished 18 of 30 passes for 199 yards with out an interception. He also shook off a tweaked left ankle to transform a couple of past due quarterback sneaks, together with a 1-backyard dive with eight:forty to play that gave the Steelers a 10-point lead the protection made positive became greater than sufficient.
“It changed into a step inside the right path,” Pickett said. “it’s now not in which we need to be or where we need to be however it’s a very good begin.”
The Saints, hoping to live within the blend in the underwhelming NFC South, rather dropped their 2d instantly.
Andy Dalton connected on 17 of 27 for 174 yards with a touchdown and late alternatives. The primary, a deflection snared by way of currently activated Steelers safety Damontae Kazee, installation Pickett’s landing run. The second — which got here one series after Dalton become crammed on a botched fourth-down quarterback sneak — allowed the Steelers to seal it.
“at the quit of the day, we didn’t make sufficient plays,” stated Dalton, who fell to three-14 in his career against Pittsburgh. “That’s what it came right down to. We weren’t able to preserve drives and that brought about us not scoring sufficient points.”
The Saints largely beat themselves. Even though the protection sacked Pickett six instances, it also devoted six penalties that gave the Steelers a primary down, such as a pass interference call towards Paulson Adebo in the long run area that set up Pickett’s score. New Orleans was flagged 10 instances for seventy four yards in all.
“there may be just quite a few distinct areas that we’ve were given to improve on,” stated Saints train Dennis Allen, who declined to answer whilst requested if he turned into considering going lower back to Jameis Winston at quarterback.
New Orleans’ miscues and a revived Pittsburgh walking game allowed the Steelers to keep the ball for almost 39 mins and hold their protection fresh.
Whilst Watt admitted his legs felt like “moist noodles” at one point, he hardly ever regarded rusty. Neither did a defense that looked ambitious even without protection Minkah Fitzpatrick, who underwent an emergency appendectomy on Saturday.
Kazee, making his first start with the Steelers, crammed in and efficaciously became the sport for precise with his thirteenth career interception.
It was the type of momentum-transferring play that in large part went missing at some stage in Watt’s absence. Now Watt is back, his particular energy inspiring his teammates alongside the manner.
“TJ’s a extraordinary animal,” Kazee said. “He started pumping the gang up and everybody is screaming and i’m like ‘Oh, you gave me chills on the field.’”
Injuries
Saints: misplaced LT James Hurst to a concussion.
Steelers: LB Myles Jack, Pittsburgh’s leading tackler, perfect up but did not play because of a knee damage.
