With “only” 7.5 sacks through 11 games, Steelers OLB T.J. Watt is on pace to record “just” 11.5 in 2024. Never mind the fact that that would be the 13th-most sacks in a single season by anyone not named Watt in franchise history. Never mind also the fact that it would be tied for the third-most sacks for the team in the past 15 years. And so what if he has recorded more than five sacks after Game 11 twice in his career?
Even still, something has felt “off” about T.J. Watt throughout the season. Part of it is his ability to win at the line of scrimmage. It hasn’t been consistently elite this year, but that is an impossible standard to maintain. For Watt, it’s about more than that.
“It seems like there’s a lot of schematics being thrown my way this year”, T.J. Watt told reporters on Friday via the Steelers’ website. “We’re trying to figure out how to combat it week in and week out. Those guys opposite me have done a great job. Everyone up front has done a great job of continuing to find ways to create pressure, even in the games that I’m not able to”.
As we have discussed before, there is some merit to what Watt says. According to Pro Football Focus, Watt has drawn more extra attention than any other defender. As of Week 8, opposing offenses were chipping him nearly a third of the time. In second place, Myles Garrett was nearly 10 percentage points behind—so much for all those double teams.
Nevertheless, the Steelers are still on pace for their lowest sack total in the BWE—Before Watt Era. Once the Steelers drafted Watt in 2017, they started putting up record sacks. Those numbers have tapered off in the past few years, with 2024 trending toward a nadir.
A major problem has been the lack of availability of the Steelers’ other pass rushers. Alex Highsmith is likely to miss his sixth game this year, and Nick Herbig missed four. That, if anything, frustrates T.J. Watt about how offenses are defending him.
“If we’re winning, we’re taking care of business, and guys are getting after the quarterback, I have no frustration”, Watt said. “Obviously, I would like to play a part in it, and I’m trying my best to navigate that. But when you throw that much schematics [at me], it’s not always easiest to continually make plays play-in and play-out like it has been”.
I should note that Watt was talking about a lack of frustration above, yet that contradicts what Alex Highsmith said earlier in the week. Watt is never going to throw his teammates under the bus. But he knows opponents’ ability to tee off on him without other quality rushers has been a detriment.
Often enough, T.J. Watt has still found a way to be T.J. Watt in the critical moments of a game. The Steelers wouldn’t be 8-3 without him; that much is reasonable enough to say. But the absence of the Defensive Player of the Year, T.J. Watt, was certainly apparent against the Browns.
