Steelers’ Watt has chest injury
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt suffered a pectoral injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s seasonopening 23-20 win against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Steelers didn’t provide many details on Watt’s status after the game. Coach Mike Tomlin said only that “T.J. has been evaluated with an upper-body injury.”
The 27-year-old Watt left the field and headed to the locker room as Cincinnati marched for a tying touchdown in the final seconds of regulation. His left arm hung limply at his side, and he pointed toward his left chest/shoulder area while talking to coaches and trainers.
Watt made a leaping interception of Joe Burrow’s
pass at the line in the first quarter, setting up Mitch Trubisky’s two-yard touchdown pass to Najee Harris
to give Pittsburgh a 17-3 lead.
Losing Watt, the reigning defensive player of the year, would be a huge blow to the Steelers, who will have to rely on their defense while trying to get their offense on track. Watt tied the NFL record for sacks in a season with 221⁄2 last year despite missing two games.
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones hurt his back in a seasonopening loss to the Miami Dolphins, a game he played start to finish. The team announced Jones would not be available for his postgame media availability because of a back injury. No other details were offered . ... Denver Broncos inside linebacker Josey Jewell, who missed most of last season with a torn chest muscle, was ruled out for the season opener at Seattle on Monday night because of a strained calf . ... San Francisco 49ers running back Elijah Mitchell left Sunday’s opener because of a knee injury . ... The Indianapolis Colts signed threetime All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson to a contract extension late Saturday. The team did not release terms of the deal, though ESPN reported it was for four years with an average annual payout of $20 million, $60 million guaranteed. Both would be record numbers for a guard. ... The Houston Texans used their opener to honor and remember the victims of the
Uvalde Elementary school shooting, hosting the Uvalde high school football team and wearing “Uvalde Strong” decals on their helmets after 19 children and two teachers were killed in a shooting there in May.