The Pittsburgh Steelers qualified for the playoffs, but they have a tall task ahead of them on the road against the Buffalo Bills without team MVP OLB T.J. Watt. This stat has been thrown around a lot over the last few days—the Steelers are 1-10 in games played without Watt since he was drafted.
Today, we will look at each of those games that he missed, including the performance of the players(s) who filled in for him.
2017 WEEK 3: 23-17 OT LOSS AT BEARS – ANTHONY CHICKILLO
This was Watt’s rookie season, but he was already off to a hot start. His first career game, he had two sacks and an interception. When was unable to play with a groin injury in the Steelers’ third game of the season, OLB Anthony Chickillo filled in with Bud Dupree on the other side. He managed to get a sack and one other pressure, but those were the only stat he registered that day. DT Javon Hargrave logged the Steelers’ only other sack.
2020 WEEK 17: 24-22 LOSS AT BROWNS – JAYRONE ELLIOT/OLA ADENIYI
This is the only instance of Watt missing a game without an injury. That is because the 12-3 Steelers were entering the final week of the season with nothing to play for. They had already locked up the AFC North and couldn’t get to the No. 1 seed in the first season the NFL switched to a 14-team playoff format. Alex Highsmith started on one side while Ola Adeniyi and Jayrone Elliot got roughly the same number of snaps on the other side. The Steelers had four total sacks. Elliot had one of them filling in for Watt and had two tackles for loss. Adeniyi had just one tackle.
2021 WEEK 3: 24-10 LOSS VS. BENGALS – MELVIN INGRAM III/DERREK TUSZKA/JAMIR JONES
This game, both Watt and Highsmith missed due to injuries. The Steelers had veteran OLB Melvin Ingram III on the team still at this point in the season before he was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs after being unhappy with his role as a backup. QB Joe Burrow only attempted 18 passes in this game and was sacked zero times. Ingram had one pressure and two total tackles. Derrek Tuszka and Jamir Jones had one tackle each and zero pressures.
2021 WEEK 11: 41-37 LOSS AT CHARGERS – TACO CHARLTON/DERREK TUSZKA
Watt missed this game due to a knee and hip injury suffered the week prior. The Steelers had two total sacks with Highsmith getting 1.5 of them. Taco Charlton got the start opposite Highsmith and earned a half sack, three total pressures, and one tackle. Tuszka played 32 snaps and had just one tackle with zero pressures. In a game where QB Justin Herbert attempted 41 passes and threw for 382 yards and three touchdowns, the pass rush production was not good enough in the 41-37 shootout.
2022 WEEK 2: 17-14 LOSS VS. PATRIOTS – MALIK REED
Watt tore his pectoral muscle in Week One of the 2022 season and the Steelers went 1-6 over the next seven weeks while he was out. QB Mitch Trubisky was still starting at this point, and the Steelers lost to the New England Patriots, 17-14. QB Mac Jones had 35 passing attempts and the Steelers had zero sacks. Malik Reed played the majority of the snaps opposite Highsmith in this game. He logged two tackles and three total pressures.
2022 WEEK 3: 29-17 LOSS AT BROWNS – MALIK REED
Reed started opposite Highsmith again and had one tackle and zero pressures. The Steelers sacked QB Jacoby Brissett twice in 31 pass attempts. Highsmith had 1.5 of those sacks.
2022 WEEK 4: 24-20 LOSS VS. JETS – MALIK REED/DEMARVIN LEAL
This is the game that QB Kenny Pickett took over after Trubisky’s struggles continued. Reed started in place of Watt again and had just one tackle, but he was more productive with four total pressures. QB Zach Wilson was only sacked once, by Highsmith, on 36 pass attempts. Rookie DL DeMarvin Leal also logged 24 snaps out on the edge and had two pressures and two tackles.
2022 WEEK 5: 38-3 LOSS AT BILLS – MALIK REED/DEMARVIN LEAL
This is the most interesting of Watt’s absences to look at because the Bills will be Pittsburgh’s opponent this Sunday in the playoffs. The last time these two teams met in the regular season, the Bills routed the Steelers, 38-3. QB Josh Allen passed for 424 yards on 31 pass attempts with four touchdowns and one interception. The Steelers sacked Allen zero times. Reed had one tackle and zero pressures, while Leal had zero pressures and one tackle.
2022 WEEK 6: 20-18 WIN VS. BUCCANEERS – MALIK REED
This was the Steelers’ only win without Watt since he was drafted in 2017, and they managed to do it against QB Tom Brady. He was sacked twice with one by Highsmith and one by DT Cameron Heyward. Reed played the majority of the snaps opposite Highsmith and had three tackles and zero pressures.
2022 WEEK 7: 16-10 LOSS AT DOLPHINS – MALIK REED
Reed played the most number of snaps opposite Highsmith. He did not register any stats and had one pressure. QB Tua Tagovailoa dropped back 35 times and did not get sacked once.
2022 WEEK 8: 35-13 LOSS AT EAGLES – MALIK REED
In the final game without Watt, Reed once again played the most snaps opposite Highsmith. The Steelers were blown out by the Philadelphia Eagles, though Reed notched his one and only sack of the season in the 35-13 loss. QB Jalen Hurts attempted 28 passes and was sacked three times. Reed finished the game with two total pressures and two tackles.
CONCLUSION
In the 11 games that Watt has missed since being drafted, the Steelers have not had great options to take his place. The best player on that list is Ingram and he didn’t have a particularly good game that day. The outside linebacker depth has been an issue for years, but the 2023 team does have good depth, including ninth-year veteran Markus Golden and rookie Nick Herbig. Golden has four sacks and 13 pressures in just 88 pass rush snaps this season while Herbig has three sacks and eight total pressures in 74 pass rush snaps, including two forced fumbles.
Part of the reason why the Steelers have been unsuccessful without Watt has been the talent level of his replacements. Golden and Herbig are not Watt, but they are much more dynamic than any of the other players who have taken his place in the past. Out of all the names listed above, they combined for 3.5 sacks over 11 games.
