‘Best defensive player on the planet,’ T.J. Watt primed to finish strong for Steelers
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Firmly established as a contender to win a second NFL Defensive Player of the Year award, T.J. Watt received a ringing endorsement from his head coach this week.
Mike Tomlin was talking about Watt being a stabilizing force on a defense beset by injuries at key positions this season. It’s a departure from last year, when the Pittsburgh Steelers had to make do without Watt for nearly half a season.
“I mean, let’s be honest, T.J. is the best defensive player on the planet right now,” Tomlin said. “He proves that week-in and week-out with the plays he delivers for us.”
With six games remaining in the regular season, Watt is tied for the NFL lead with 13.5 sacks. He vaulted back into the top spot with a two-sack performance last weekend in a 16-10 victory at Cincinnati.
In 2022, the year after he won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award when he tied the single-season sacks record at 22.5, Watt was limited to 10 games because of a torn pectoral injury.
While Alex Highsmith emerged as a bona fide complementary piece at outside linebacker, Watt totaled just 5.5 sacks last year. Healthy again this season, Watt has retaken his mantle among the top defensive players in the league while anchoring a defense that has lost All-Pro players Cameron Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick for long stretches of games and will finish the season minus two starting inside linebackers.
Despite facing constant double-teams — and occasional triple-teams — Watt is tied with Minnesota’s Danielle Hunter for the sacks lead while also chipping in six pass breakups, an interception, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. He returned one of those fumbles for a game-winning touchdown.
“I get a bird’s eye view of it,” Tomlin said. “I see the lengths that people go through to minimize his impact on the game. I know the type of games that we’ve been in, close ballgames and how that at times minimizes a guy that plays his position’s ability to impact the game.
“None of those things slow down the train that we all know is coming.”
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With the calendar flipping to December and marking the closing stretch of the regular season, Watt is in conversation to win the award for a second time, an achievement accomplished by only eight players. He is looking to join an exclusive club of multi-time winners that includes the Steelers’ Joe Greene in addition to Lawrence Taylor, Bruce Smith, Reggie White, Ray Lewis, Mike Singletary, Aaron Donald and T.J.’s eldest brother, J.J. Watt.
Folks in Cleveland are stumping for Myles Garrett to win it for the first time, and his case is built on 13 sacks and four forced fumbles. Minnesota’s Hunter also has four forced fumbles as does the Los Angeles Chargers’ Khalil Mack, who has 13 sacks and is looking to become a two-time winner.
Dallas counters with two contenders: linebacker Micah Parsons and cornerback DaRon Bland, who has returned five of his NFL-leading eight interceptions for a record five touchdowns.
For his part, Watt hasn’t openly stumped to reclaim the award, letting his play on the field and the wins it has helped produce speak volumes.
“I’m trying to be the best player I can possibly be,” he said. “I can’t really look at everything else. I think there’s just so much going on in the season, so many more pressing things to focus on than who’s the best, all that stuff. I just want to continue to be the best player I can be for myself and for this team.”
A closer inspection reveals that Watt is ahead of his 2021 pace when he tied the sacks record despite missing two games to injury. With six games remaining that year, Watt had 11.5 sacks, meaning he got nearly half of his sacks down the stretch. He opened December 2021 with 3.5 sacks against Baltimore and then had four more in the penultimate game of the season against Cleveland.
His running mate at outside linebacker sees an improved pass rusher this season.
“I see someone who consistently is wanting to get better, and I think that’s what makes him so great at what he does,” Highsmith said. “He never settles, he never gets content no matter how he plays. He wants to get better and better each week. To have a guy like that to play with and have a leader who is the best in the world at what he does and is never content is just awesome. It makes you want to work harder and be the best you can be.”
Backup outside linebacker Markus Golden spent the past two seasons in Arizona playing alongside J.J. Watt, and he sees similarities between the brothers. Not that he is willing to go on the record and mention them out of respect to what J.J. has accomplished as a three-time defensive player of the year recipient.
Of his new teammate, Golden said, “The dude works harder than anybody in the NFL. Every day. He puts the work in all the time. For me to come in and be his teammate and watch him do it every day is big time.”
When inside linebacker Elandon Roberts joined the Steelers in free agency, he knew little about Watt other than what he had witnessed on highlights. It didn’t take long for him to spot other aspects of Watt’s game that aren’t available for public consumption.
“It’s how he takes care of his body, how he eats right,” Roberts said. “He does everything a high-quality NFL player should be doing. He’s up on everything. You see how he studies, watches film, how he approaches practice. It’s all on an elite level.”
Watt takes pride in being more than just a pass rusher in the Steelers’ 3-4 scheme. The Steelers ask their outside linebackers to defend the run and drop into coverage.
“I’m a big believer in it’s not how you do one thing, it’s how you do everything,” he said. “I’m trying to be the most well-rounded player I can possibly be.”
Time will tell if Watt has the credentials to again take home the top award a defensive player can achieve. Nobody on the Steelers would be surprised if Watt makes it happen.
“He is something else,” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. “People plan (to stop him) every week, but he still shows up every week in that stat sheet, and that’s amazing.”