The Pittsburgh Steelers have been the benefactor of TJ Watt and his amazing skill set since they drafted him in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He has contributed to many close victories for the Steelers, and has been a force to be reckoned with year in and year out. He won the NFL's Defensive Player Of The Year Award in 2021, which was the same year he tied the all-time single-season sack record. He has been a consistent superstar for the Steelers, and Head Coach Mike Tomlin recognizes that. He spoke about it during his press conference on Tuesday.
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Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher, TJ Watt knows how much he is relied on and in 2023, he has come to play.
Steelers' Tomlin Calls Watt The Best Defensive Player On The Planet
The Steelers are coming off of a huge victory in Week 12 of the 2023 NFL season where they beat the Cincinnati Bengals by a score of 16-10. The defense obviously played a huge role in that, as they only gave up 10 points. Watt had himself a huge game, recording five total tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble. He always shows up big for the Steelers in big games, which Tomlin spoke about when he was asked if Watt is a stabilizing force for the Steelers defense.
"Not only for the defense, but for our football team. There's just a lot to learn from him and how he goes about his business, how he works to maximize his talent level. What he does, the level of production, let's be honest. TJ is the best defensive player on the planet right now. He proves that week in and week out."
Watt has been the Steelers' best player so far in 2023, as he is tied for the league lead in sacks with 13.5. He also has an interception, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, six passes defensed, a touchdown, and 12 tackles for loss. He is certainly the frontrunner to win his second Defensive Player Of The Year Award, and should probably be in the NFL's Most Valuable Player conversation.
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Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro edge rusher, TJ Watt (90).
Watt has made an impact for the Steelers defense ever since his rookie year and has had double-digit sacks in five of his seven seasons in the NFL. The only seasons he didn't was his rookie year, and in 2022 when he missed seven games. He was never fully healthy once he returned later in the year. He is a nightmare for opposing teams to game plan for, and Tomlin spoke about how he notices teams going to extreme lengths to try and minimize Watt's impact on the game.
"I get a bird's eye view of it. 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 ball games and how that at times minimizes a guy that plays his position's ability to impact a game. None of those things slow down the train that we all know is coming."
Watt is one of the league's best game wreckers, and he shows up in timely situations. Whether it is getting a sack to push a team out of field goal range, or stopping a drive where the opposing team is threatening to score. Watt has shown that multiple times this year. In Week 2 against the Cleveland Browns, Watt scooped up a fumble that was forced by his partner in crime Alex Highsmith and returned it for the game-winning touchdown.
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Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher, TJ Watt gets a memorable sack without his helmet on against the Tennessee Titans in 2023.
Another instance of Watt's late-game dominance was against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5 where he was able to sack Lamar Jackson late in the game to secure the victory for Pittsburgh. Watt has had plenty of these types of plays in his career, and the Steelers will certainly need more of them from Watt this season to get where they want to go.
What do you think of Tomlin's comments about Watt being the best defensive player in the world? Let us know in the comments below!
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