A second-quarter turnover from Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow resulted in Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt treating Burrow like the potential tackler that he was.
Watt grabbed Burrow by the front of the jersey, eventually guiding him to the ground. Not gently.
Speaking to PFT by phone after the game, Burrow had zero complaints.
“He was just blocking me after the pick,” Burrow said. "[I] was going to go make the play and he decided to block me. . . . It’s football. I told him, ‘Nice block.’ I told him I wasn’t worried about it. No hard feelings.”
Earlier this year, we saw referee Clay Martin physically intervene when Eagles defensive end Derek Barnett tried to block Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady after an interception. I asked Burrow when he thinks he’ll get similar treatment.
“Maybe if I get 15 or 20 years down the road, maybe,” he said, laughing. “Maybe six or seven Super Bowls in. I think Tom can afford that luxury and people will protect him a little more than they will a second-year quarterback.”
Burrow isn’t a guy who wants protection. That’s part of him that may never change. As he said, “It’s football.” He gets it, and he has no problem with that.