By virtually any metric, Pittsburgh Steelers OLB T.J. Watt is falling short of his standards, at least when it comes to rushing the passer. The fact that “only” having 7.5 sacks in 11 games is an issue for him merely speaks to his greatness. But the Steelers need Watt to be great, because they lose when he isn’t.
And he certainly wasn’t great last Thursday on a day that Myles Garrett was. Watt had his worst game against the Browns of his career, and the on-field results reflect that. While Nick Herbig made a play that helped, the Steelers needed more plays that Watt couldn’t make.
Even if he isn’t playing at his best this season, defenses are still playing T.J. Watt as hard as ever. And Alex Highsmith acknowledged that it’s something that is going to get to you as a pass rusher. He blamed “non-stop chips” as a big season Watt doesn’t have his usual numbers. He does face more chips than anybody else this season, which even Pro Football Focus admits.
“When you have a guy like that, teams are game planning them”, Highsmith said of Watt, via the Steelers’ website. “But I know he’s gonna beat those and he’s gonna get back there and make a bunch of plays. Because that’s who he is. His whole career he’s been chipped, he’s gotten his double blocks. But he’s setting record numbers every single year, so we know what type of player he is”.
Though he only ranks 13th in sacks in the NFL, T.J. Watt is tied for the most forced fumbles. He also has the fourth-most tackles for loss, tied with Garrett and two off the league lead. And the leader, Danielle Hunter, has already played 12 games. Certainly, Watt has made an impact on plenty of games this year. But everyone knows he hasn’t had his usual success on a play-to-play basis.
“Yeah, I think [he is frustrated] in a way, because [of] the competitor that he is”, Highsmith said of Watt. “Knowing how hard he works and how much he wants to get to the quarterback, I know it is frustrating for him”.
Of course, we can’t ignore the fact that defenses can’t ignore T.J. The fact that teams pay so much attention to him has a lot to do with why others can make plays. Nick Herbig is a little sparkplug who is making a name for himself, and rightly so. But he certainly benefits from playing with Watt and Alex Highsmith.
Another obstacle for Watt this year too is the fact that the Steelers haven’t had Herbig and Highsmith consistently. In fact, the Steelers haven’t had them both in the same game since Week 3. When one comes back from injury, the other goes down.
But with Highsmith on the mend, they might have their full platoon of pass rushers for the first time in months. And coming off a mini-bye, and ticked off, T.J. Watt could be primed for a big game Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
