Eagles Coach Praises T.J. Watt For Steelers' Ability To Generate Turnovers

Steelers five-time All-Pro edge rusher T.J. Watt is one of the NFL's true game-wreckers.

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt (90). / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA - The sample size is now large enough at 11-2 to declare the Philadelphia Eagles a good football team.

Pittsburgh can say the same after its 10-3 start.

The two cross-state rivals will meet Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field for mythical Keystone State bragging rights, and the peace of mind of politicians like Josh Shapiro and John Fetterman, who will no longer have to anger half of their constituency with their rooting interests.

While “any given Sunday” is a battle-tested cliche is a league driven by parity when you discuss any good football team, the surest predictor of win vs. loss is the turnover ratio.

If the operation is clean, good teams are typically going to win.

It’s no coincidence during the Eagles’ pedestrian start over the first month of the season, quarterback Jalen Hurts was second in the NFL in turnovers with seven. An early bye week was focused on limiting those turnovers and during the Eagles’ current nine-game winning streak, Hurts has only two giveaways.

It may get ugly at times like Week 14’s 22-16 win over Carolina. Some have legitimately questioned whether Philadelphia has become too cautious at the expense of the other important statistic at the NovaCare Complex, the explosive-play rate.

However, this is probably not the week to test that theory against the Steelers' talented defense which has contributed to an NFL-best, plus-17 turnover ratio. As a comparison despite over two months of relatively clean football, the Eagles are No. 9 in the league at plus-four.

Nick Sirianni was asked about Pittsburgh’s ability to generate turnovers and the Eagles’ coach defaulted to five-time All-Pro T.J. Watt.

“No. 90. No. 90 is outstanding,” Sirianni said of the 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. “You can see how he plays and the ability he has to get the quarterback, and retrace to the quarterback, and always have that ball on his mind.”

Then on the back end, the Steelers have veteran ball hawk Minkah Fitzpatrick at safety. When Hurts has turned it over this season, savvy center fielders have been an issue with Green Bay’s Xavier McKinney and Atlanta’s Jesse Bates both baiting the Eagles' QB1 earlier in the season.

“My experience has been when you have a guy that's a ball hawk like him, that goes throughout [the defense]. And [Steelers S] Minkah Fitzpatrick is too on the back end,” Sirianni said.

The way Watt and Fotzpatrick play rubs off on their teammates..

“Those guys get an opportunity to learn from [Watt], so you can see [Steelers LB Nick] Herbig playing that way, [Steelers LB Alex] Highsmith playing that way,” said Sirianni. “So they do a really good job getting after the quarterback and having the ball on their mind when that happens.”

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