TJ Watt is rightly infuriated as refs royally screw the Steelers defense big time

The Pittsburgh Steelers defense has been asked to do...a lot on Sunday afternoon. While the offense ought to improve this season without Kenny Pickett at the helm and Matt Canada calling plays, the Steelers first game of the year forced backup quarterback, Justin Fields, to play a role few expected. Russell Wilson's calf injury kept him out Week 1. Fields was named the starter, which should limit the Steelers offensive output.

TJ Watt and Co. are used to forcing turnovers, and playing a bend-but-don't-break style. In the modern NFL where scoring is paramount, it's the best they can offer in hopes that Fields and Co. can put together a few decent drives. Watt almost flipped the field in the second quarterback against the Falcons, appearing to time a strip sack perfectly. However, he was called offside.

Watt was called offsides on a borderline decision. While he clearly had a head start on the snap, that could have easily been from knowing the snap count. Based on the broadcast view, it did not appear Watt actually jumped across the line of scrimmage early. In theory, defensive players are allowed to move around behind the line prior to the snap.

Did the Steelers, TJ Watt get screwed on defensive offsides call?

The Steelers had two questionable calls in a row go against them. First, George Pickens was called for a rather weak offensive pass interference on a third-down catch. Pittsburgh had to punt as a result.

Next, Watt was called for defensive offsides when, frankly, I have a hard time believing he got a head start. Watt times snaps perfectly. Perhaps this was one of the rare occasions he got it wrong, but there's a reason he was THIS upset when speaking with Mike Tomlin after the fact.

Again, if I had to trust a player as elite as Watt vs an official, I'm going to go with the former. This isn't to say players are always right, but Watt is rarely wrong, and makes a living off creating chaos in the backfield.