Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher TJ Watt has not been the wrecking ball he normally is this season. That isn’t to say he isn’t playing powerful defense. He is. The results are just different. In 2023, Watt had 19 sacks; through 11 games this season, he’s only at 7.5. That is giving some fans worry that he is losing his touch. However, the reality is that offenses have been paying extra attention to Watt all season. That could all change during the Week 12 game against the Cleveland Browns.
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Steelers’ TJ Watt rumbles toward the end zone during the 2023 Week 2 win over the Browns.
Game after game, other teams’ coaches have admitted that Watt gets most of their attention. They have been focused on shutting him down, and that’s obvious from the number of double teams and chips seen weekly. Before their Week 10 game against the Washington Commanders, Offensive Coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said they planned to put extra attention on Watt. Kingsbury added that Watt is such a “game-wrecker” that he keeps him up at night.
Watt has been so dominant that opponents must be mindful of who covers him and get that player extra support. Recently, Head Coach Mike Tomlin spoke with Bob Pompeani from KDKA about the keys to the game. Pompeani mentioned that Watt had some of his best games against the Browns during his seven-plus seasons in the league. He said that in 12 games against Cleveland, Watt has had a whopping 17 sacks. He asked Tomlin if he believed that Browns offensive lineman Jack Conklin could stop Watt or if the linebacker will find himself back in the sack leader hunt with this game. Tomlin said that remains to be seen because of an injury to Dawand Jones.
“The reason I say that is their left tackle went down with a major injury this past week, so they’re going to have a new left tackle,” explained Tomlin. “Conklin is a veteran. He’s highly compensated; they acquired him, I think, from Tennessee because of those things. So when you’ve got a veteran guy, a guy that’s highly compensated working with a backup, most of the time, even if a guy the likes of TJ Watt is opposite Conklin, that backup or that inexperienced guy is usually gonna get the schematic help in one-dimensional moments. They got an issue to deal with there, but I would imagine they’re going to help that backup. But we’ve got capable people over on that side as well.”
The other defenders have been able to make splash plays all season long because of how teams have tied up Watt. Cameron Heyward already has five sacks this season after only getting two in 11 games in 2023. Watt’s partner Alex Highsmith, who is currently injured, has made three sacks, and Nick Herbig has 2.5. Those haven’t been the only big plays. The Steelers are second in the league in turnover differential, with 11 behind the Buffalo Bills at 14.
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Steelers’ Cameron Heyward with a sack on Raiders QB Aiden O’Connell.
Watt will likely still get the most attention from the offensive line, but with Germain Ifedi playing in place of Jones, their focus will be divided. Their loss might truly be Watt’s and the Steelers’ gain.
Steelers’ TJ Watt Responded To Ridiculous Myles Garrett Comment
At the end of 2023, Watt was robbed of the AP Defensive Player of the Year Award when it was given to Browns’ Myles Garrett. Even though Watt and Garrett play somewhat different positions, that storyline always comes up with the media.
Garrett was asked about Watt’s frustration over losing the award last year. He took advantage of the opportunity to take shots at Watt, saying that he never complained during the years when he didn’t win the award.
Watt fired back, saying he wasn’t worried about what Garrett thought; he was focused on the Steelers winning the game. And they are doing that well so far, sitting at 8-2 atop the AFC North. The Browns are at the bottom of the division at 2-8 and will be looking to ruin Pittsburgh’s season.
