TJ Watt should be “chipped” for the game-changing strip sack

On the biggest play of the game on Monday night, a strip sack of New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones by future Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Steelers edge defender TJ Watt, the biggest question was why the Giants had Jermaine Eluemunor 1-on-1 Watt attack with left and right.

ESPN commentator Troy Aikman asked the question. Fans on social media asked. It turns out that Eluemunor had probably asked for it too, expecting help.

“He [Watt] “It should be chipped,” head coach Brian Daboll said. “Jermaine was expecting a chip.”

Daboll explained that Jones was supposed to move tight end Theo Johnson, who was on the opposite side next to new left tackle Chris Hubbard, through the formation to help Eluemunor. That didn't happen.

“We had a shift with the tight end to get back to Watt and we didn’t get the shift,” Daboll said. “We talked about it in the locker room. To be honest, DJ feels terrible. I know it will be his. He came here to say it was his.”

The play by Watt, a four-time first-team All-Pro who had 19.0 sacks last season, came after Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke gave the Giants an eight-point lead at the Pittsburgh 37-yard line , by stripping Pittsburgh quarterback Russell Wilson recovered the ball with 4:34 to play.

The Giants had a third-and-7 at the Steelers' 19-yard line with 3:04 to play when Watt picked off Jones.

“There was a change that accompanied the piece,” Daboll said. “He looked at the coverage and decided what he wanted to do, but we couldn’t get the shift done.”

Jones went 24 of 38 for 264 yards with a fumble and an interception on the Giants' final possession. He was sacked four times and hit 12 more dropbacks as the Giants struggled to contain Watt and Alex Highsmith, the Steelers' other fullback.

Jones also showed unusual emotion at times, particularly after the Giants botched a two-point conversion.

“Loved it. I enjoyed seeing his competitiveness,” Daboll said. “He played hard. I thought he did a lot of good things and unfortunately we had a few turnovers at the end of the game. But I thought he played extremely hard, competitive, fiery and that’s what you want from a quarterback.”