It's often said, big-time players make big-time plays.
And that was definitely the case for linebacker T.J. Watt on Sunday night against the Seattle Seahawks.
That is why Watt was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 6.
Watt finished the game with seven tackles, two sacks for a loss of 13 yards, three pass defenses and one major forced fumble in overtime.
And it was in overtime where he really took over. First, he had a 13-yard sack of Geno Smith to force the Seahawks to punt on their opening possession of overtime.
Then Watt had a strip-sack of Smith on the Seahawks second possession, and Devin Bush scooped up the loose ball for the recovery. The play set the Steelers up for a 37-yard Chris Boswell field goal for the 23-20 overtime win.
"We were in a run-stopping play," said Watt of the play. "I was involved in the rush, and I don't even think I had a good rush or anything, I was just trying to find a path to the quarterback and luckily I was able to and chop at the ball and the ball came out.
"We were happy to have the opportunity to close the game out as a defense. It was sudden death on the last drive there and we love having the ball. We love playing defense in a situation like that and I'm glad we were able to close the game out for our team and it was a resilient performance for us."
Coach Mike Tomlin said he is never surprised by the big-time plays that Watt makes at key times.
"I don't think anyone is surprised by his ability to deliver in those moments," said Tomlin. "Yes, he's a great player, but it's about what he's willing to do in terms of preparation and conditioning himself and all of those things. It's not anything mystical about that play making, man. We're talking about a guy that's really talented, that works extremely hard, that's hyper focused, prepared physically and mentally, so that's what happens."
This is the fourth time Watt has won AFC Defensive Player of the Week, last doing so in Week 2 of the 2020 season.
