Pittsburgh Steelers OLB T.J. Watt is in the midst of yet another impressive season with a league-leading six sacks through three games. The Steelers are 2-1, and Watt feels like Pittsburgh’s team this year is a lot better than the Steelers have been in the past.
“I feel like we have a special team this season. Not taking anything away from years past, but it’s time to go. I know these sacks and stuff come in bunches, so you just have to make them last as long as possible,” Watt said during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show today.
The work general manager Omar Khan did this offseason helped the Steelers build the most complete roster they’ve had in a long time. While the season started out with a dud, a 30-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh has bounced back and won its last two games.
There are still some holes, and the Steelers haven’t really played up to expectations so far. The offense was running on fumes but had its best game of the season against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week Three, scoring two touchdowns and putting up over 100 yards on the ground for the first time in 2023.
Despite some lapses in coverage, the defense has been generally solid, and in Week Three the Steelers cleaned up issues in the run game that had plagued them over the first two weeks. Las Vegas ran for just 69 yards on 3.6 yards per carry, and that performance against the run has to continue going forward.
But the pass rush has been elite again, with Watt and OLB Alex Highsmith forming one of the most devastating duos off the edge in the NFL. Watt’s been a stud once again, leading the league in sacks and winning AFC Defensive Player of the Month for September. Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans talked about how difficult it’s going to be to stop Watt this week, and if he performs like he has early in the season on Sunday, it’s going to be a long day for Houston’s beat-up offensive line.
As a whole, the 2023 Steelers certainly have the ability to be special, at least when compared to their teams of the past few years. A realistic expectation for this team is to win a playoff game, though there’s a lot the Steelers are going to have to clean up as the season progresses, namely offensive line play. If they can fix some of their issues, they should be a team that can win double-digit games and compete in the postseason.
The talent is there, and now the execution has to continue. Watt’s certainly held up his end of the bargain, and if the offense and the team around him can do their job, it could be a fun rest of the season.
Watch the full interview, starting around 43:00, below.
