Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt suffered a knee injury in the third quarter of Saturday’s win over the Baltimore Ravens after leaping up to stop quarterback Tyler Huntley. He was hit by friendly fire with defensive tackle Montravius Adams, and Watt’s lower leg got hit. It is unclear on the severity of Watt’s injury, but he immediately went into the blue medical tent and then left to the locker room. He was ruled out for the game.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that based on initial tests, Watt is believed to have suffered a Grade 3 MCL sprain. He’ll have further tests, but that’s a multi-week injury. It’s better than an ACL tear, but it means that Watt would be out for at least the wild-card round if the Steelers end up making the playoffs.
Adam Schefter also said on ESPN that the Steelers believe Watt suffered a sprained MCL. Watt was arguing to go back in, but the Steelers wouldn’t allow it, Schefter claimed.
With reaching the 19-sack mark on the season against the Ravens on Saturday, T.J. Watt joined his brother J.J., DeMarcus Ware and Mark Gastineau as the only four players in NFL history to have multiple 19-sack seasons. Watt recorded two sacks on Huntley to break a tie with Trey Hendrickson of the Bengals for the league sack lead.
Watt is in the running for NFL Defensive Player of the Year, an award that he won in 2021 when he tied the NFL single-season sack record with Micheal Strahan (22.5 sacks). Watt’s 19 sacks leads the league. He could become the first play in NFL history to lead the league in sacks three times.
To make the playoffs, the Steelers need the Jacksonville Jaguars to lose/tie to the Tennessee Titans or the Buffalo Bills lose to the Miami Dolphins. Pittsburgh would also clinch a playoff berth if the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts tie on Saturday night.