After edge rusher T.J. Watt led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 26-18 victory over the New York Giants on Monday Night Football, it’s easy to say Giants right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor gave Watt bulletin board material. Eluemunor told the media before the Steelers-Giants Week 8 matchup that he wanted to be on an island against Watt.
But after the game, Watt made it clear that he didn’t need Eluemunor’s pre-game comments to be ready to make an impact against New York.
“I’m plenty motivated,” Watt told the media after the game, via DK Pittsburgh Sports. “I don’t need the extra stuff.”
The Giants gave Eluemunor his wish on October 28, leaving him to block Watt on his own on multiple occasions. But it didn’t go as the New York right tackle hoped.
Watt made some of his biggest plays of the Monday night matchup when blocked one-on-one versus Eluemunor. One of those plays was a fourth-quarter sack fumble that Watt also recovered.
In addition to the sack fumble, Watt finished Week 8 with 7 total tackles, including 2 tackles for loss and 2 quarterback hits.
Steelers’ T.J. Watt Admits Hearing Pre-Game Comments From Giants RT Jermaine Eluemunor
Essentially, Watt said he’s already too motivated to be bothered from an opponent’s pre-game comments. But that doesn’t mean the Steelers 4-time All-Pro wasn’t aware of what Eluemunor said.
Watt admitted to the media after Week 8 that he did hear what Eluemunor said about wanting to face him in one-on-one situations.
“Oh, yeah [I heard],” Watt told reporters, via DK Pittsburgh Sports. “I respect each and every player in the National Football League. They work hard. I feel like I work hard. I’m just trying to make plays when they’re presented to me when I get those opportunities.
“Like you guys have seen, I haven’t had a lot of one-on-ones all year. But when I do, I try to make the most of them.”
More than anything, Watt may have been motivated in Week 8 to avoid a third straight game without a sack. The last time he had a three-game stretch without a sack was 2018.
That didn’t happen, though, as Watt posted 2 sacks in the second half versus the Giants. The biggest of which led to Pittsburgh’s first takeaway of the night.
Watt took the ball away from Giants quarterback Daniel Jones right after Russell Wilson fumbled to give New York possession in Pittsburgh territory. Watt’s sack fumble came on third-and-7 at the Steelers 19-yard line with roughly three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Over the last four games, Watt has more forced fumbles (4) than he has sacks (3.5).
Eluemunor’s Pre-Game Comments on Watt
As Watt mentioned to the media, he hasn’t received many one-on-one opportunities this season, especially lately. That’s a big reason why he came into Week 8 having no sacks the past two contests.
But Eluemunor apparently wasn’t going to shy away from the challenge of blocking Watt even if it meant facing the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year without any help.
“I love it. I’ve been telling you, I’m the most confident guy in this locker room,” Eluemunor told the media on October 24. “I think you can see that through my play this year. I want to be on an island with him all day.”
Eluemunor also expressed that the Giants were going to have to be more physical than the Steelers. That’s what Eluemunor said the Baltimore Ravens did when he was on their roster and beat the Steelers in 2018.
The Giants offense did establish a dominant rushing attack in Week 8, as they averaged 6.3 yards per carry. But once the Steelers took a lead, and the Giants needed to throw the ball, things were a lot more dicey for Eluemunor and the New York offensive line.
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Steelers’ T.J. Watt Strongly Reacts to Pre-Game Comments From Giants RT