The Pittsburgh Steelers don’t yet know if T.J. Watt will play against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday. If he doesn’t, they know they will get no sympathy from their opponents. The Ravens need this game even more than the Steelers do, and that’s just a fact. Watt is nursing a low-ankle sprain, and playing on a short week makes his quick return even more challenging.
While the Steelers have a horrendous track record playing without Watt, they are better equipped for such an occurrence than they have been in the past. Sans Watt, they still have Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, Preston Smith, and Jeremiah Moon, which isn’t too shabby. It’s not T.J .Watt, but DC Teryl Austin knows the NFL is about making the best of what you have.
“You’re going to lose guys from time to time, and the guys behind, we have confidence in them coming in and playing and being able to hold the job down and get it done”, Austin said about the potential of playing without T.J. Watt, via transcript provided by the Steelers. “We don’t have a pity party because we are losing somebody. Everybody is missing people at this point of the year. The biggest thing is how do the guys that have to step into roles, how do they do when their opportunity is presented to them”?
Watt has missed 11 games throughout his NFL career, in which the Steelers are 1-10. The majority of those games came in 2022, when he missed seven due to injury. He has not missed a regular-season game since then, however, and is in contention for the Defensive Player of the Year Award.
On the season, Watt has 11.5 sacks, 54 tackles, 18 for loss, 27 hits, six forced fumbles, and two recoveries. He almost always manages to make some impact play, including a third-down sack the last time the Steelers played the Ravens to force a punt, even if it wasn’t his most memorable.
We will find out later today whether or not the Steelers are likely to have T.J. Watt on Saturday. My guess is he will be listed as questionable, because the NFL decided a probable designation was too useful. In other words, we might not know his status until 90 minutes before kickoff.
While the Steelers won’t throw themselves a pity party should they be without Watt, Austin admitted they wouldn’t be very happy about it. That goes without saying whenever you don’t have access to an elite player, of course. And the Ravens are confident they can handle the Steelers’ offense.
To have an injury timed as poorly as this only makes matters worse. The Steelers clinch the AFC North on Saturday if they beat the Ravens. Having Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig is nice, but you want T.J. Watt out there for critical plays.
It’s been a while since the Steelers have had to play a game without Watt. They’ll find out if they have to whether they’ve made adequate enough improvements that keep them competitive in his absence, but that is very much Plan B.
