The Pittsburgh Steelers won their visit to the Baltimore Ravens (17:10) in Week 18 of the NFL on Saturday, but lost their superstar TJ Watt, who will most likely miss the playoffs.
The Steelers have to hope for help from the competition in order to make it into the playoffs, but even if they manage to make it into the playoffs, they will probably have to make do without Watt there. As reporter Ian Rapoport from the “NFL Network” reported after the game, initial tests on Watt’s knee revealed a third-degree strain of the medial ligament. This means that the tape is at least severely torn.
According to sports medicine specialist Dr. For Jessica Flynn, this will likely mean a downtime of six to eight weeks if an MRI in the coming days does not reveal even greater damage to the anterior cruciate ligament or the bones. The Super Bowl in Las Vegas is already five weeks away, so even in the best-case scenario, Watt’s involvement is almost impossible for Pittsburgh.
Until his loss at the end of the third quarter, Watt played a large part in a strong defensive performance for the Steelers in Baltimore and had two sacks and three tackles for loss. He has 19 sacks this season and leads the NFL in sacks by two ahead of Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals heading into the final games of the season.
Steelers: Watt leads NFL in sacks
If this remains the case, it would be his third sack title in the NFL. With his now 19 sacks, he and his brother JJ Watt are the only players in NFL history with two seasons with at least 19 sacks each, along with DeMarcus Ware and Mark Gastineau.
Watt played all 17 games for the Steelers this season and, in addition to his 19 sacks, also scored his first touchdown in the NFL with a fumble return.