The play occurred during the first quarter of Thursday night’s encounter when Watt was able to force his way past Titans right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere before bringing down Tennessee quarterback Will Levis.
Petit-Frere was also called for an ‘illegal hands to the face’ penalty which Pittsburgh elected to decline and bring on fourth down. The 29-year-old Watt came into Thursday in a three-way tie for third place in the league in sacks with 8.5.
Petit-Frere’s hand was seen making direct contact with the center of Watt’s facemask, before the Steelers’ leader in sacks shed the block and his helmet in the process. Levis had been trying to run around the pocket in search of either a hole to run through or space to throw the ball when he maneuvered his way into Watt’s grasp.
He was tied with Cleveland Browns superhuman star Myles Garrett and New York Giants edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux. Along with the 8.5 sacks, Watt recorded 18 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception.
Watt has also been playing with a hand injury that seemingly has not been stopping his dominance against defenses. Earlier in the season it was reported that Watt dislocated his finger and tore multiple ligaments during the Steelers 17-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Watt had popped the finger back into place during the game and went on to miss no time due to the injury.
