The Pittsburgh Steelers’ latest loss was disappointing for multiple reasons. Not only did their offense fall flat again, but the Kansas City Chiefs tore their defense apart.
It was more of the same story with the Steelers too.
Miscommunication left players wide open, allowing Patrick Mahomes to dissect them. Slightly more surprising was how ineffective the Steelers’ pass rush was. Analyst Gregg Rosenthal is wondering where potential Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt was.
“Pittsburgh’s got all their pass rushers. They had a 17% pressure rate,” Rosenthal said recently on talkSPORT End Zone’s YouTube channel. “I’ve been hearing T.J. Watt as the Defensive Player of the Year, and where was T.J. Watt in this game?
“They were just minimized by [Patrick] Mahomes getting rid of the ball quickly and good game planning by the Chiefs. I think their defense needed to be special for this team to win this division, and they haven’t been special. They’ve been thoroughly average.”
Against the Chiefs, the Steelers didn’t record a sack. The key to beating the Chiefs is pressuring Mahomes, but the Steelers let him do whatever he wanted. Part of that is because the Chiefs’ game plan included a lot of quick passes, but that’s no excuse for how poorly the Steelers performed.
Watt has had an interesting season. He is one of the favorites to win the Defensive Player of the Year award, but he’s also had some rough games. That isn’t to say he isn’t having an elite season. He’s still been one of the best defenders in the league. However, in some games, he hasn’t been very impactful.
That’s mostly been due to how teams have schemed against Watt. He’s often chipped or double-teamed, with teams not willing to risk letting him wreck the game. Sometimes, that even means holding him. That still provides value to the Steelers, but it has slowed Watt down on occasion.
He’s also apparently dealing with a thumb injury that’s causing him some discomfort, which would explain his quiet day against the Chiefs. With one regular-season game left, Watt has 11.5 sacks and six forced fumbles. That’s an incredible season, and yet, it still falls short of the expectations Watt has set for himself.
That’s part of the reason why analysts are criticizing him. Watt’s still unreal, but he’s set the bar high for himself. If he isn’t destroying opponents in every game, it can seem like he’s underperforming.
We’ll see if the Steelers turn things around in their final game. Their defense has been floundering, but it was amazing for most of the year. If the Steelers can find that version of themselves defensively again, they could prove Rosenthal wrong. They just need to get back on the same page.
