The Steelers are now back at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, facing down a long regular season that looks a lot more promising given how things have gone leading up to it. Finishing just above .500 last year, they anticipate being able to compete with any team in the league this season with second-year QB Kenny Pickett leading the way.
They’ve done a great deal to address what they identified as their shortcomings during the offseason, which included addressing the offensive and defensive lines as well as the secondary and the inside linebacker room, which is nearly entirely different from last year. The results have been positive so far.
Even well into the regular season and beyond, there are going to be plenty of questions that need to be answered. When will the core rookies get to play or even start? Is the depth sufficient where they upgraded? Can they stand toe-to-toe with the Bengals and the other top teams in the league? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout the season, as we have for many years.
Question: Will the Steelers be able to generate enough pass-rush pressure without T.J. Watt?
Almost everything went right for the Pittsburgh Steelers over the final three weeks of the regular season in order to make it to the playoffs. Unfortunately, one thing in particular did not. Their best player, OLB T.J. Watt, suffered a knee injury in the finale that will keep him out of at least the Wild Card Round game against the Buffalo Bills.
While the Steelers are confident in the depth that they have at the position this year in Markus Golden and Nick Herbig, who combined for seven sacks on the season, there is no replacing Watt in any way, shape, or form. The man should be adding his fourth Defensive Player of the Year trophy in a few weeks, even though he only has one and seems destined to remain with one.
But I digress. It’s not like we don’t know it’s a lot harder to win games when you don’t have your best player on the field. Just about every Steelers fan probably knows by heart at this point that they have a 1-10 record when he doesn’t play, which I don’t need to point out is horrendously bad.
They do have a player in Golden who has a lot of veteran starting experience and has played at a high level in the recent past in a full-time capacity. He has been effective this year when given the opportunity to play as has the rookie Herbig.
On top of that, they are both fresh and healthy after having played only a limited role for vast stretches of the season. Neither of them has had to start a game because the starters up to now remained healthy from week to week. Now is their time to be called upon, however, and earn their pay—regardless of the field conditions.
