Pittsburgh Steelers LB T.J. Watt is one of the best edge rushers in the NFL. He led the league with 19 sacks in 2023. That marks the third season in his seven-year career he’s accomplished that feat (2020 and 2021 the other seasons). That makes him the first player since the NFL recognized sacks as an official stat in 1982 to lead the league three times in a career. However, there is one thing that still haunts Watt.
Watt joined SiriusXM NFL Radio last Friday at the 101 Awards to discuss all things Steelers. When he was asked to reflect on the 2023 season, he spoke about his frustrations with how it ended and the lack of playoff success throughout his career.
“Obviously, didn’t go the way we wanted in the end,” Watt said about 2023. “This is my seventh year, this past season, and to not win a playoff game is embarrassing and not how we do things in Pittsburgh.”
The lack of playoff success in recent seasons for the Steelers has been a common refrain this offseason. It was a major topic at both head coach Mike Tomlin and team owner Art Rooney II’s end-of-season press conferences. The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016. That was the season before Pittsburgh selected Watt 30th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Why have the Steelers struggled in the postseason? They’ve made the playoffs four times during Watt’s seven seasons in the league. Twice, they won the ARC North and got a home game but lost.
The common thread among all those losses is getting in a hole early. In Watt’s rookie season, the Steelers were outscored 14-0 in the first quarter and 28-14 in the first half by the upstart Jacksonville Jaguars en route to a 45-42 loss. In the 2020 season, the Steelers gave up 28 points in the first quarter without scoring any to the Cleveland Browns and trailed 35-10 at halftime in a 48-37 defeat.
When the Steelers took on the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2021 playoffs, it was a shutout for both teams in the first quarter, but the Steelers still trailed 21-7 at halftime before losing 42-21. Then against the Bills this past season, the Steelers were down 14-0 after the first quarter and 21-7 at halftime in the 31-17 loss.
You can look at the final score and see that the defense has had issues. However, the offense in all four games failed to produce any points in the first quarter.
Regardless of who is to blame, the Steelers have failed in the playoffs during Watt’s career. It’s definitely wearing on him, and it’s becoming an embarrassment to a player who has otherwise been outstanding in his first seven NFL seasons.
