Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher, T.J. Watt is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. After sustaining a devastating pectoral injury in his first week of the 2022 NFL season, he has established himself as much more than that. Watt is not an extreme vocal leader, but he is exactly that, a leader. The Steelers went 1-6 in his absence and now they are 1-11 in games he has not played since he was drafted in 2017.
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The Steelers will face the New Orleans Saints this Sunday at Acrisure Stadium and surprisingly are not completely out of the AFC North race. The team is on life support at 2-6 and must go no worse than 7-2 in the last 9 games of the 2022 season to have a chance at winning the division. The offense is still in disarray, but the Steelers most important player is retaking the field against a struggling Saints offense led by a familiar face in Andy Dalton.
Watt has an opportunity that few defensive players ever get in the modern NFL. He has a chance to make a compelling case as not only the best defender in the NFL, but the MVP of the entire league. Steelers fans are spoiled watching Watt and understand just how much attention he commands when he is on the field. The attention paired with production is something no other defender in the NFL can match and that includes Aaron Donald.
Cam Heyward (97) and Alex Highsmith (56) chase a fumble against the New York Jets. | Jared Wickerham / Pittsburgh Steelers
Interior linemen routinely face double teams, and this is not to belittle Donald, he is the best interior defender in football. Watt routinely faces triple teams on the edge which based on the production of Alex Highsmith, Larry Ogunjobi and Cam Heyward without him, bodes ill for opposing offenses. If Watt is 75 percent and commands similar attention, Highsmith especially should thrive when defenses must start blocking him one on one again.
Assuming that Pittsburgh approximates its fierce pass rush that it unleashed on Joe Burrow in the first game of the season, the Steelers defense has a real chance to impact the fortunes of the team. Quarterbacks on the Steelers second half schedule feature Dalton, Marcus Mariotta, Sam Ehlinger, P.J. Walker and Derek Carr. The Steelers will have to face Burrow again at home, Deshaun Watson, and Lamar Jackson twice.
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, TJ Watt (#90) celebrates a sack at Heinz Field on October 17, 2021. | AP Photo / Matt Durisko
If the Steelers can win the four games against marginal quarterbacks and go 3-2 against the AFC North and Carr, they are 9-8. If they go 4-1 in the remaining divisional games and the Immaculate Reception celebration on Christmas Eve they will end at 10-7, and they are likely to be the kings of the north. Which is almost unfathomable at this point, but based on the schedule and the return of the best player in the NFL, it is possible.
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - NOVEMBER 08: T.J. Watt #90 of the Pittsburgh Steelers reacts during warm up before a game against the Chicago Bears at Heinz Field on November 08, 2021 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Watt could end up with 10 games played in 2022 and if he reaches double digit sacks and the Steelers make a run in the second half of the season, he will have a clear compelling case for MVP of the league. A non-quarterback has not won the award in a decade since Adrian Peterson won in 2012. A defensive player has not won the award since Lawrence Taylor in 1986. Watt has unique circumstances that give him the first realistic opportunity since Taylor.
The award has been dominated by quarterbacks since its inception in 1957. Quarterbacks have won 46 out of 64 MVP’s. 15 running backs have won the award, two defenders and in 1982, Mark Moseley, a kicker, was the NFL MVP. Watt could prove if the Steelers close the season at 7-2 or better with double digit sacks, that he is bar none the very definition of the award. The question is, will a league that doesn’t give him credit as the most destructive force on the football field consistently, recognize the achievement or ignore it?
What do you think, Steeler Nation? If the Steelers somehow win the division, does Watt deserve the MVP? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
