Steelers' TJ Watt Gives Credit To Unsung Hero After His Incredible Week 1 Touchdown

The Pittsburgh Steelers opened the 2026 season with a shaky win over the Atlanta Falcons at home. It is always good to start the year with a record of 1-0, but fans were hoping for more from the offense in the 20-13 win. There were a lot of reasons to be concerned, but the defense was not really one of them. The offense for Pittsburgh could only score one touchdown on the day, and the defense matched that in the fourth quarter as outside linebacker TJ Watt picked off Cooper Rush and returned it for a touchdown. It was his first career pick-six.

The win was ugly, as a lot of Pittsburgh's victories are, but it was exciting as Watt seemed to return to his dominant form. He did it while playing fewer snaps than normal, which is going to be a point of emphasis for the coaching staff moving forward. This is in an effort to keep Watt fresh for later in games and later on in the season. This was proven to be the correct approach as the star started the fourth quarter with a pick six, shortly after recording his second sack of the day to end the third quarter.

Watt dove into the details of his interception that he wound up returning for a touchdown during a recent appearance on Not Just Football With Cam Heyward. It was a weird play as he fell down almost immediately in the vicinity of a few Falcons, but he got back to his feet for the score. Had he been touched while on the ground, the play would have been over, but he had a teammate screaming at him to get up.

"Incredibly surprised," Watt said of not being touched while on the ground. "I felt like I was down on the ground for like three or four seconds. When I watched it back, I was like, 'There's no way that's how quick I got up.' Because it felt like I was down there forever. I was going down, if Nu wasn't yelling, 'Get up! Get up!,' I would have stayed down."

Watt hit the deck immediately after leaping in the air to pick off Rush, but he quickly got to his feet to run the ball back for a score. That was a heady play as he easily could have been touched down, but he gives all the credit for that to defensive tackle Keeanu Benton. He was the one screaming at Watt to get up, and he is probably the reason the touchdown occurred.

Steelers' TJ Watt Once Again Proves He Is More Than An Edge Rusher

Watt constantly finds himself in debates between himself and the other premier edge rushers around the NFL. He might not be the best sack artist in the league anymore, but he constantly finds ways to change games. He is the only player in the upper echelon of pass rushers that does what he does. He now has 10 interceptions in his career, and he has scored three defensive touchdowns including one in the postseason. He is a game wrecker that consistently finds ways to turn offenses over.

The outside linebacker may no longer be a shoe-in to lead the league in sacks, which is something he has done three times, but he continues to prove that he is different from those that he gets compared to. He makes plays that other outside linebackers and defensive ends could only dream of. He currently leads the NFL in sacks after one week as he had two, and he could have another historic season in Pittsburgh that may have him in contention for another Defensive Player Of The Year Award.

What did you think of Watt's pick-six story from Week 1? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!

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