It’s hard to have watched Troy Polamalu play and not allow him to become your favorite player. He is one of the most remarkable athletes the NFL has ever seen, and you won’t see another Steelers 43. It may take some time, but the team may well retire his jersey number one day. As it stands, a decade on, it is one of those “unofficially retired” numbers that the team doesn’t issue.
A first-ballot Hall of Famer, Polamalu’s time with the Steelers spanned from the days of Jerome Bettis to Ryan Shazier. His tenure encompasses a lot of team history—and he made plenty of it along the way. In fact, Cameron Heyward recently called him the best he has ever played with. That’s no small feat considering he has played with multiple other Defensive Player of the Year Award winners.
“I think Troy [Polamalu] is the number one”, Heyward said on his Not Just Football podcast, when asked where T.J. Watt ranked among all the players he has played with. “The thing with T.J. is, he’s still going and still can reach and grabbing more. … I think what distinguishes the two [is] Troy’s got two Super Bowl rings”.
Heyward highlighted Polamalu’s game-sealing interception in the 2008 playoffs against the Baltimore Ravens. “That’s the only T.J.’s missing in this equation. T.J.’s just waiting for big plays in the playoffs. And he’s talked about it. We all want success in the playoffs”.
To date, the Steelers have never won a playoff game since drafting Watt in 2017. They are 0-4 since then, and in fact only have three postseason wins since they drafted Heyward in 2011. In contrast, they won 10 playoff games during Polamalu’s career from 2003-2014. They reached the Super Bowl three times, winning twice.
In fact, Polamalu won the Defensive Player of the Year Award leading up to the Steelers’ 2010 run. Watt won the award in 2021—a year in which the Steelers barely made the playoffs. The Kansas City Chiefs trounced them in the opening round, 42-21, leading 35-7 with under five minutes to play.
During his 12-year career, Troy Polamalu recorded 783 tackles with 56 for loss, 12 sacks, 14 forced fumbles, 32 interceptions, and 107 passes defensed. He scored five total defensive touchdowns, and reached the Pro Bowl eight times. A six-time All-Pro, he placed top-five in Defensive Player of the Year voting three times with one win.
As for Watt, he is trending toward a first-ballot Hall of Fame induction himself. In seven seasons, he has 401 tackles with 107 for loss with 96.5 sacks, 27 forced fumbles, seven interceptions, and one touchdown. He is a six-time Pro Bowler, four-time All-Pro, and a top-five finalist for the Defensive Player of the Year Award four times. He has one win, but many believe he should have two or three—if not four.
Yet Watt, in three postseason games, has just eight tackles, one sack, and three passes defensed. Polamalu, in 15 postseason games, has 65 tackles with three interceptions, seven passes defensed, and a touchdown. Both players’ highlight reels are filled with game-changing plays. But Polamalu’s extends into the postseason. Up to now, Watt’s really hasn’t. That needs to change, and very soon.
