T.J. Watt wrote himself into the Pittsburgh Steelers' record book on Sunday. But for him, the scoreboard told the story of the day, and it wasn't one he was proud of.
In Sunday's 30-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Watt collected three sacks. That tied him with Steelers legend James Harrison for the all-time franchise record in regular season sacks with 80.5. In the moment, it meant little to Watt.
“I mean, I really don't want to diminish what it is, but I’m super upset about the result today,” said Watt, courtesy of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Brian Batko. “Not happy with it. It’s not acceptable on many levels. There are so many more plays to be made out there, myself included.”
Watt's performance marks the third consecutive season that he's collected a sack in Week 1. It's the fourth time he racked up multiple sacks in a season opener, giving him 11 sacks for his career in season-opening games.
But the Steelers outside linebacker wasn't happy, with the team or even his own performance. Watt spoke of being better against the run in particular as something to improve upon.
It was a rough outing all around for the Steelers. They entered 2023 with sky-high expectations. Those centered mainly around the anticipated growth of quarterback Kenny Pickett in his second year, along with the impressive group of playmakers around him.
But Pickett threw two picks and was sacked five times himself. The Steelers suffered some injuries, and ultimately produced just seven points against San Francisco.
The 49ers carry Super Bowl ambitions themselves, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the Steelers “got kicked in the teeth today” per coach Mike Tomlin. They'll need a bounceback performance on Monday Night Football next week against the Cleveland Browns to prove that there was something behind all the preseason hype.
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