The Pittsburgh Steelers needed their studs like T.J. Watt to step up to pull off an upset tonight. Those studs did not do so, at least not often enough, and are once again the Steelers are one-and-done in the postseason. Watt posted zero traditional statistics in the Steelers’ 28-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens—no tackles, no sacks, no nothing.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because Watt also posted no traditional statistics in the Steelers’ regular-season finale, as well. In Week 18 against the Cincinnati Bengals—another loss, he failed to even register a quarterback hit.
It’s the first time in his Steelers career that Watt has been held without a statistic twice in a row, and the third time overall. For comparison, the Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett has been held without a traditional statistic twice in his career. But Garrett didn’t have a postseason game this year to potentially add to his total. Still, for the Steelers to get such low impact from such an important player is alarming.
The Ravens steamrolled Pittsburgh’s defense during the first half, jumping out to a 21-0 halftime lead. Baltimore seemed to move at will for most of the first 30 minutes, scoring touchdowns on three of its four possessions. And Watt didn’t even come particularly close to making a play for the Steelers.
All three of Watt’s games with zero tackles occurred during the Steelers’ 2024 season. In addition to Saturday night and the regular-season finale, he also failed to record a tackle in Week 10 against the Washington Commanders.
It’s worth noting that Watt did briefly exit the Ravens game with an apparent arm injury. The training staff, however, wrapped up his elbow and he shortly re-entered the game. One would imagine the injury had some impact on his effectiveness, but a zero stat line is still rare. Part of the cause was also the game plan on how the Steelers chose to defend the zone read, too.
T.J. Watt finished his eighth season for the Steelers with 61 total tackles, including 19 for loss, with 11.5 sacks, 27 hits, and six forced fumbles. While he led the NFL in forced fumbles, his other statistics lag behind other league leaders. As a team, the Steelers’ defense faltered in the second half of the season. The defensive collapse was a key part of their ending the season on a five-game losing streak.
Watt did have one other game earlier this season in which he had very little statistical impact. Against the New York Jets, he recorded only one assisted tackle and a pass defensed. The Steelers still won, though, which always makes it easier to stomach.
According to Pro Football Reference, T.J. Watt ended the season on a four-game run without even a quarterback hit. He only had one other streak of three-plus games in his career, very early on, as a rookie. Including the Steelers’ playoff loss on Saturday night, this is his first streak of four.
Now, the stat sheet doesn’t mean that Watt didn’t have an impact on the game. There were certainly times where he tried to make a play but just wasn’t quite in position to do so. Some of those instances, however, hurt the Steelers when his efforts failed because nobody else was in his spot.
