Another terrible news hit the Steelers as Mike Tomlin just revealed a heartbreaking..
For the AFC Wild Card Game against the Buffalo Bills, T.J. Watt will not be available for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Watt’s knee injury will prevent him from playing on Sunday, head coach Mike Tomlin revealed on Tuesday.
It’s not shocking that Watt won’t be able to participate, even though it’s a little odd that Tomlin made this announcement so early in the week.
In the third quarter of the team’s victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, Watt sustained the injury. His knee caught teammate Montravius Adams as he leaped into the air, trying to break up a Tyler Huntley pass. This caused him to bend awkwardly backward.
T.J.’s brother J.J. Watt wrote on social media that T.J.’s Grade 2 MCL sprain diagnosis was a “best case scenario” and that with a few weeks of rest and recuperation, he should be OK.
Although it is a positive development in the long run, it does mean the Steelers will be missing their greatest player going into a postseason game.
Pittsburgh’s victory over Baltimore and the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defeat to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday allowed them to lock up the seventh seed in the AFC.
In terms of points allowed per game at the end of the regular season, the Steelers were sixth. In four of the last five games, they have given up 23 points or fewer. That team will try to contain a Bills attack that finished the season with the sixth-highest point total.
Watt finished fifth in tackles for loss after making 17 starts and led the NFL with 19 sacks. The six-time Pro Bowler’s absence will put pressure on Alex Highsmith, who finished second on the team with seven sacks.
At 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, the Steelers and Bills will meet at Highmark Stadium.
