The Week 1 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons saw plenty of struggles — especially on offense — and that included the performance of the officials, which was bad news for the Steelers in particular.
First, there was a shaky-at-best offensive pass interference call on George Pickens. Then, T.J. Watt had a strip sack negated because of an offside penalty that was way too close to call, as it looked like Watt timed the snap perfectly.
Then, there was a baffling unsportsmanlike conduct penalty called on Broderick Jones when he literally did nothing to deserve it. We should also mention that the play that saw Cameron Johnston get injured probably should have been flagged.
Ultimately, the Steelers were able to overcome the lackluster showing by the zebras to win, 18-10, and it was Watt who sealed the victory with a sack at the end. After the game, Watt appeared to throw a little shade at officials.
“I think that was one of the first times in my life I had (a walk-off sack), so I had to take a bow," Watt told NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. "I had to make sure there were no flags because of the other two.”
Watt was referencing his strip sack that got called back, but he also had another strip sack negated due to a penalty on Donte Jackson that was actually the right call.
Watt was an absolute menace in Week 1, as you'd expect. On top of his lone sack, the star edge rusher had four tackles (two for loss) and three quarterback hits.
