Baltimore — According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Steelers are concerned that defensive MVP candidate T.J. Watt suffered a Grade 3 left MCL sprain in the third quarter of their important 17-10 victory over the Ravens on Saturday and would require further testing.
Watt injured his left knee shortly after securing his second sack of the game, as he landed awkwardly after jumping and colliding with teammate Montravius Adams. Watt, who had been ruled out for the remainder of the game, wanted to return, but the Steelers would not let it.
Watt lay on his stomach, banging his first into the moist, muddy turf after the play, as his teammates knelt around him. Watt, who had come off the field on his own, went slowly back to the locker room for further treatment after spending several minutes in the sideline blue medical tent.
“Obviously, man, T.J. is a big part of not just our defense, but our entire team,” linebacker Elandon Roberts said. “amazing leader, amazing person, both on and off the field. I hope it isn’t as horrible… From the standpoint of our team — not just our defense, but our entire team — we absolutely do not want T.J. to be injured.”
Watt had two sacks and a tackle for loss as of Saturday afternoon, raising his season total to 19. Watt not only leads the NFL in sacks, but he is also the second player in league history to have successive seasons with at least 19 sacks, behind older brother J.J.
Coach Mike Tomlin remained hopeful that Watt’s injury would not be severe.
“I’ll have more information probably next time we get together,” Tomlin went on to say. “Obviously disappointed, but there are problems in sport, just as there are in life. So we will cope with it, whatever it is.
With Watt away, the Steelers relied on Markus Golden and rookie Nick Herbig to fill in for Alex Highsmith. Golden, who joined the Steelers in free agency, sacked Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley on third down, forcing Baltimore to settle for a field goal on the last drive.
“I got a lot of sacks hitting the edge and stuff like that, but I just want to get out there and win the game for my team,” Golden went on to say. “Go out and compete for T.J. You have to play hard for a man like him when he is down, because that is what he does.
If the Steelers make the playoffs and testing confirms Watt’s significant MCL sprain, he will most likely miss the wild-card round. This entails looking for yet another defensive replacement in a season full of them.
“We better be able to, even though it’s a tall ask,” defensive captain Cameron Heyward said of replacing Watt. “It won’t be just one individual. We’ll have to change things up, but as a pass-rush, D-line, and outside linebacker crew, we need to step up.
“It goes to guys like Alex Highsmith, who I thought played quite well today, Nick Herbig, and Markus Golden. These are the men we’ve relied on for depth all season, and they’ve done an excellent job. No one is going to go out there and say, ‘Hey, I’m T.J. Watt,’ but we all have to pick it up.”
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