Bengals OT La’el Collins Throws Shade at T.J. Watt

Cincinnati Bengals right tackle La’el Collins had some strong words for T.J. Watt following the Bengals’ 37-30 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. He even went as far as accusing Watt of being a whiner.

“T.J. knew he had to line up against me. So, s*** you know, at the end of the day, he was crying to the refs. (Laughter). So, I’ll see him again next year.”

It’s probably not the best idea to trash talk a pass rusher like Watt who is in the same division. But Collins went there, and it’s not like he completely shut out Watt. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year still recorded six tackles (two solos), a half-sack, two passed defended, a quarterback hit and a remarkable interception. I mean, it wasn’t like Watt’s Week 1 performance when he torched Collins for six tackles (all solos), a sack, three tackles for loss, two passes defended and an interception. But it was still impressive.

This play below suggests that Collins didn’t dominant Watt like he thinks he did. The numbers also back it up, as Pro Football Focus had Collins with a 45.3 pass-blocking grade.

La’el Collins is so unserious pic.twitter.com/xyWdDruoSP

— Theo Ash 🇺🇸 (@TheoAshNFL) November 20, 2022

There was also several plays where it looked like Collins was holding on for dear life, which is why Watt justifiably complained to the officials. Nevertheless, Joe Burrow gave props to Collins and left tackle Jonah Williams following the game. “Man, unbelievable. And we didn’t even help them that much (with double teams),” Burrow said.

If Watt catches wind of what Collins said (I’m sure he will), it might be something that he’ll keep in the back of his mind for next year’s matchup. Not that Watt needs any extra motivation.