Watt had two sacks to raise his season total to an NFL-leading 19 before he went down in the third quarter with a knee injury after his leg collided with the leg of teammate Montavious Adams. Watt immediately started pounding the turf in apparent pain or frustration.
Afterward, coach Mike Tomlin held out hope that Watt would be OK.
“I’ll have more information probably next time we get together,” Tomlin said. “Obviously disappointed in that, but there are challenges in the game of football, there are challenges in life. So we’ll deal with it, whatever it may be.”Watt’s injury stood out the most on a day when the Ravens rested a number of their stars following their AFC title game victory the previous week. Pro Bowl safety Kyle Hamilton, talented cornerback Marlon Humphrey, rookie wide out Zay Flowers, and star quarterback Lamar Jackson were all absent for Baltimore (13-4) during the game.
Despite the fact that defensive end Brent Urban had a concussion evaluated, linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips damaged his shoulder, and defensive back Geno Stone injured his knee, coach John Harbaugh seems to have succeeded in keeping his squad healthy.
“It seems like we made it through,” Harbaugh remarked. “At this point, it appears that we would have all of those players back for the division playoff week.”
Despite playing with a limited roster, the Ravens came close to winning.
Patrick Queen, a linebacker, stated, “Can’t dwell on it.” “They have an opportunity to go to the playoffs, even though we had the opportunity to send them home.” Although it hurts a little, we have a lot of pages in our book that really set us up for success. There are no headshakes or anything. We’ll be prepared if we run into those folks again.”
In contrast to the Ravens, the Steelers needed to play with all focus during this game. The Steelers’ triumph and sweeping of their AFC North opponent come at a high cost, though, if Watt is forced to play without. Watt not only leads the NFL in sacks but is an inspiration to the team’s gritty defense.
