Pittsburgh Steelers OLB T.J. Watt showed that he’s more than just a pass rusher in the team’s 24-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday with a third-quarter interception of Matthew Stafford that helped turn the momentum in Pittsburgh’s favor. On Good Morning Football Wednesday, Jason McCourty broke down his top defensive plays of the week, and he included Watt’s interception. McCourty said it’s something that separates him from other pass rushers, namely Myles Garrett.
“This was so impressive. We know he can rush the passer,” McCourty said. “This to me just isn’t fair. If I’m Matthew Stafford, I’m like, what the hell, he’s not supposed to be there. Every Steelers fan was like, ‘Can Myles Garrett do that?’ No, he can’t do that. That’s why T.J. Watt is the best.”
That interception was the seventh of Watt’s career, which is seven more than Garrett has in his career. While there are notable differences between the two, namely the fact that Garrett is more of a defensive end while Watt is an outside linebacker and therefore doesn’t drop into coverage as much, it’s Watt’s football IQ that allowed him to make that play.
Garrett had an incredibly impressive play of his own on Sunday, jumping over the line to block an Indianapolis Colts field goal, another play that made McCourty’s best of the week. Garrett is an immensely talented player, but Watt’s IQ and ability to drop back in coverage, read the quarterback, and step in front of Cooper Kupp to make the interception is something that Garrett, or really any other primary pass rusher, is incapable of doing.
It’s one of the reasons why McCourty thinks Watt is deserving of the Defensive Player of the Year award.
“You look at the defensive side of the ball, we just talked about Myles Garrett as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, T.J. Watt has a lot to say about that,” he said. “This guy has been absolutely dominant.”
That’s why Watt is more than just a pass rusher. He makes plays at the line of scrimmage when it comes to batting down or tipping balls, he can get out in coverage and make plays, and he can be a force in the run game. On top of that, he’s someone who has 85 career sacks and is tied for the NFL single-season sack record. His dominance can’t be overstated, and he’s the most important piece of Pittsburgh’s defense and team as a whole.
His run of success has caused former Steelers FS Ryan Clark to say that Watt is on a trajectory to be the greatest Steelers player ever, and Watt is in the midst of another DPOY-worthy season, with eight sacks, five passes defensed, two forced fumbles and three fumbles recovered. If he wins his second DPOY in three seasons, Watt deserves to be recognized as the best defensive player in football, and we can stop with the comparisons to Garrett, Micah Parsons and Nick Bosa.
