Pittsburgh Steelers: Reigning Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt May Have Torn Pectoral
Pittsburgh may have lost the NFL's reigning Defensive Player of the Year for an extended period.
The Steelers believe T.J. Watt suffered a torn pectoral during Sunday's 23-20 overtime victory over the Bengals, according to multiple reports.
Watt was scheduled for an MRI on Monday, and according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the injury would sideline Watt for an extended period, perhaps the entire season. After the injury occurred, Watt walked slowly toward the sideline pointing toward his arm.
The Steelers remained hopeful after Sunday's game that Watt will return at some point this season. While Watt's away, outside linebacker Alex Highsmith said others must pick up the slack.
"Praying that everything's going to be all right," Highsmith said, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com. "I know a guy like him, that's gonna hurt him that he's not out there because he loves football so much. We're just going to rally around him. We've got the guys to just be able to step in and deliver if he's not able to go."
Pittsburgh starting running back Najee Harris also suffered a foot injury in Sunday's game and was wearing a walking boot after the game. While Harris' injury is not thought to be serious, his status for Pittsburgh's Week 2 game against the Patriots will be monitored throughout the week.
Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Burrow Looks to Bounce Back From Five Turnovers in Opener
After leading the Bengals to the Super Bowl last season, Joe Burrow had a ragged start to the 2022 season throwing four interceptions against Pittsburgh and losing a fumble. His first throw of the game resulted in pick-six by Minkah Fitzpatrick. After the game, Burrow was reportedly the last player to leave the locker room, alone with his thoughts.
Burrow underwent an appendectomy July 26 and missed time during training camp, but wouldn't blame his performance on being rusty.
"You don't make any excuses; it is what it is," Burrow said via cincinnatibengals.com. "The first half didn't go our way, the second half I thought we played well."
The Bengals invested heavily in their offensive line during the offseason and have four new starters up front. However, Burrow was still sacked seven times by the Steelers, raising concern about how much Cincinnati's offensive line has improved.
Burrow said he wasn't concerned.
"Any time you have new guys up front, it's going to take a while to get the communication right up front, and I thought they did a good job," Burrow said.
Burrow and the Bengals will look to bounce back in Week 2 when they visit the Cowboys.
Cleveland Browns: Drafting Kicker in Fourth Round Pays Quick Dividend
The Browns are 1-0 for the first time since 2004, and they pulled out a 26-24 victory over the Panthers on the strength of Cade York's 58-yard field goal with eight seconds left to play.
Cleveland drafted the former LSU kicker in the fourth round, which left them open to second-guessing if York struggled early. Instead, York made four field goals in the opener and delivered in the clutch during his first regular-season test.
His teammates were impressed, realizing they have a new weapon who could help Cleveland win more close games.
"The kicker of, hopefully, our future," All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett said via Camryn Justice of Cleveland News 5. "That was a hell of a kick. Big-time momentum swing. I know we still had to cap it off, but game winners don't come around for kickers very often. Him to do it as a rookie, that's big for him and his confidence going forward and it's big for us as a team."
York was so locked in on making the kick, he didn't remember much about how he celebrated afterward.
"In those situations, I just get real locked in and it's just tunnel vision so I don't really remember everything about it but it felt good," York said.
"I usually say I don't celebrate kicks but that one was a little bit different." A fist pump maybe somewhere in there, a lot of yelling, my shoulder's a little sore so I don't know what I did there."
The Browns will host the Jets in Week 2.
