Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt wants to make one thing clear — he wants to win his first playoff game this season.
The eighth-year linebacker is the favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year after winning the award in 2021 and finishing as a top runner-up in three other seasons.
While Watt is on the path to winning the award, he wants to stress that it’s all about team goals — not individual objectives — when it comes to his career.
“Anybody who has followed me throughout my career knows that it’s all about the team and just trying to get to the playoffs and have success when we get there,” says Watt in a one-on-one interview on behalf of his partnership with Peloton. “I’m just trying to win games and get to the playoffs and have my first playoff win. It has been a huge thorn in my side since I’ve been here.”
While Watt has been a part of some good Steelers teams over the years — Pittsburgh finished 13-3 in 2017 and 12-4 in 2020 — he has never won a playoff game despite having played in the postseason on four different occasions.
The Steelers are off to a sensational start this season (9-3) and have a legitimate chance at moving into the No. 1 seed by season’s end with a Week 17 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs looming on the schedule.
However, it won’t be easy with upcoming divisional matchups against the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals. They also have to visit the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Week 15.
“I don’t know man, it’s still early,” says Watt when asked if the 2024 Steelers are the best team he’s played on. “There’s so much football left to be played. I know it’s getting down to the end of the season, but there’s still so much that has to happen. We have basically all of our divisional games still left to play. You can ask me that in about a month.”
TJ making days 🖤💛@_TJWatt pic.twitter.com/wiZ1F3gMCP
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 1, 2024
Although Watt may be hesitant to crown the 2024 Steelers as the best team he’s played on, he does acknowledge the stability that 36-year-old veteran quarterback Russell Wilson has brought to the team. Wilson is one of the most accomplished quarterbacks over the past decade, having led his team to a Super Bowl win and having been named to the Pro Bowl on nine different occasions.
“Any time you have Mike Tomlin at the helm, you have a great shot to begin with,” says Watt. “He’s a great motivator of men and not had a losing season since he’s been there. Obviously, that’s a great accomplishment. But being able to be a guy (Russell) that comes in in relief for Justin (Fields) and just have the depth that we’ve had, especially throughout the whole offseason with the acquisitions.”
Watt reveals that a big key to the Steelers’ success has been their ability to dominate time of possession along with the key defensive acquisitions made over the offseason.
“Just speaking on the defensive side of the ball, you have Donte Jackson, Patrick Queen, just to name a few guys that have had huge impacts on our defense and DeShon Elliott as well,” says Watt. “We’ve just been able to create turnovers and be very optimistic as a defense. I think our offense is top five — if not No. 1 — in time of possession. Our defense has been spending a lot of time on the bench and that’s what we’ve been doing this year.”
He’s off to another stellar start this season with 9.5 sacks and an NFL-leading five forced fumbles. The Steelers have a big-time matchup against the Cleveland Browns — a game they’re looking to win especially after coming up short in a Thursday Night Football loss to them just a couple weeks prior.
Players with more Sacks in their first 116 career games than T.J. Watt:
– Reggie White
End of list. pic.twitter.com/X627mhhP1S
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) December 1, 2024
While there’s been a lot of talk about Watt’s rivalry with Browns star and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett — especially due to Garrett winning the award over Watt last season — Watt once again is downplaying the individual rivalry and is focusing on winning a game this weekend.
Garrett had 3.5 sacks in the Browns’ 24-19 victory over the Steelers in Cleveland earlier this season.
“We need a win,” says Watt. “Obviously, we weren’t happy with the result we had two weeks ago there. We have a chance to right our wrongs this week, back in Acrisure, in front of Steelers nation. Very excited about that opportunity. We’re aiming just to stack wins. We talk about how important it is to win in the NFL, but you’re doing something special if you’re stacking wins. We need to get back to that.”
When asked what his objectives are for the 2024 season, Watt once again focuses on the team aspect rather than winning his second Defensive Player of the Year award.
“Getting to the playoffs and starting off with a win,” says Watt. “That’s been the goal since the offseason and we have a lot of games left to play — like I said earlier — and we need to get hot at the right time. I feel like we’re a relatively healthy team, especially when you stack up against the other teams around the NFL. Just need to continue to grow and play our best football as we get down the stretch.”
