For all his individual success as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, T.J. Watt has yet to experience the team success that has made the Steelers one of the most storied franchises in the NFL. Watt has yet to win a playoff game in Pittsburgh, something he touched on during arrival day at training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.
“You can’t win a Super Bowl if you don’t start with a playoff game,” Watt said via the Cook and Joe Show on 93.7 The Fan. We’re always trying to take it one game at a time. We know the end goal is to win a Super Bowl and in order to do that we have to start winning playoff games. It’s been too long.”
Pittsburgh’s playoff win drought is pretty ugly. They haven’t won one a postseason game since 2016, beating the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round despite not scoring touchdown. Since then, they’ve been one-and-done in the postseason. Frankly, it’s gone on too long, and while there’s no specific person to blame, it can’t continue.
With the talent the Steelers have this year, making the playoffs and winning a playoff game should be a reasonable expectation. Even if it is a wild-card team, Pittsburgh has a talented defense and an offense that should be better than it was a year ago, when the team went 9-8. Kenny Pickett should take a step up in his second season, while the run game should improve with better pieces along the offensive line and a healthier Najee Harris.
At this point, guys like Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick and Alex Highsmith should be exceedingly hungry for a playoff win. All the individual success is great, but when you look at a guy’s legacy, it’s going to be hurt without any sort of postseason success. That’s where the majority of the Steelers are right now. Highsmith echoed Watt’s sentiments.
“It’s time to win a Super Bowl,” he said on The Cook And Joe Show.
As for Mike Tomlin, his job is safe, but at some point finishing above .500 every year isn’t going to be enough. The standard in Pittsburgh is playoff success and Super Bowls, and there hasn’t been enough of either lately.
This season, that needs to change. The regular season isn’t going to be easy, particularly in the AFC North. But if the Steelers make the playoffs — and they really should — there needs to be a push to do whatever it takes to win. Not that there hasn’t been in the past, and Pittsburgh’s gone up against strong opponents, but now more than ever this core needs to prove it can win when it matters. That’s something that Watt and the rest of the leadership group on this team need to make a priority.
