By Kevin Gorman
September 10, 2017
Photo: http://www.steelers.com/
CLEVELAND
Upset that he had drawn a flag for a late hit on Cleveland Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer, T.J. Watt wanted to make up for his “dumb penalty.”
On the next play, the Steelers' first-round draft pick intercepted a pass.
“It just so happened to work out,” Watt said. “Perfect timing.”
Watt had a dynamic debut, recording six tackles (five solo), two sacks for minus-11 yards and the interception in the Steelers' 21-18 victory over the Browns on Sunday.
“I thought T.J. got off to a really good start, in terms of his first regular-season game,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said.
Just how good? Watt is the first Steelers player with two sacks in his NFL debut since it became an official statistic in 1982 and only the third player in NFL history with two sacks and an interception in his pro debut.
“I'm not complaining at all,” Watt said, “but, at the same time, there were a lot of plays left out on the table that I should've made.
“I'm never satisfied with my performance. We'll go back and look at the film and see where I can make corrections and (could) have gotten better.”
Admit it: It crossed your mind that Watt was more productive in his first NFL game than Jarvis Jones was in his entire tenure with the Steelers.
And you wouldn't be all that wrong.
Watt was better in the opener than Jones was in his entire rookie season in 2013, when he had one sack and no interceptions. Jones had only six sacks and two picks in four years.
Consider the Steelers had an NFL-low 13 sacks through the first 10 games last season, and it's no wonder they invested another first-round pick in a pass-rushing outside linebacker.
Can't ask for much more, right?
“The crazy thing is, you could,” Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward said. “But he can continue to grow and keep getting better from here. It's more impressive just to get it, in general. But he's a hungry, intelligent kid that's just going to get better with time.”
Most impressive was that Watt did it against Browns left tackle Joe Thomas, a 10-time Pro Bowl pick and seven-time first-team All-Pro — although the rookie Kizer holding the ball too long partly was to blame.
“(Watt) had that pick and some good rushes against one of the best tackles in the league,” Steelers left outside linebacker Anthony Chickillo said.
Added Watt: “Just going up against a guy with his honors — a perennial Pro Bowler — it was awesome to share the field with (Thomas).”
Watt got his first NFL sack early in the third quarter, dropping Kizer for an 8-yard loss to the Steelers 17 and celebrating with a sack dance. It forced the Browns to settle for a 24-yard field goal to cut it to 21-10.
On Cleveland's next possession, Watt sacked Kizer for a 3-yard loss but the Steelers followed with back-to-back penalties by cornerbacks Will Gay and Artie Burns. Watt later drew a personal foul for his late hit on Kizer, which gave the Browns a first-and-10 at the Steelers' 29.
“I saw he was down, and I don't know why, but I just kind of blacked out and went down with him,” Watt said. “It won't happen again.”
On the next play, the 6-foot-4, 252-pound Watt showed off his hands with a leaping grab to pick off Kizer. Watt, however, lamented that he left some plays on the field against the Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium.
“We did play well, and it felt like we were in the backfield all the time, but we have to finish plays,” Watt said. “There were a few sacks left out on the table, at least from my point of view.”
Not to mention sack dances.
“That's just trying to bring some energy,” Watt said. “It's just whatever comes to my mind. This is the job, but, at the end of the day, I love what I do.”
You had to love his debut.
Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at kgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter @KGorman_Trib.
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