The Pittsburgh Steelers entered Week 13 of the 2023 NFL season with the first Wild Card spot in the AFC, and a very good chance to get another win against the struggling Arizona Cardinals. However, things did not go Pittsburgh's way. The game was a mess and the Steelers lost by a score of 24-10. The team struggled with penalties and saw many players go down with injuries. Star edge rusher TJ Watt went down for some time with an injury on a play where he got held, and he expressed his frustrations about not getting holding calls.
Abigail Dean / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' TJ Watt sacks Cardinals' Kyler Murray.
Steelers' Watt Fed Up With NFL's Officiating
Watt and the Steelers defense struggled against Kyler Murray and the Cardinals. They didn't have a takeaway in the game, despite the Cardinals fumbling twice and being able to recover the ball themselves. Watt was a bright spot for the Steelers defense, as usual. He had six combined tackles, a half sack, and batted a ball down at the line of scrimmage. Late in the game, after the game had gotten away from the Steelers, Watt appeared to be injured on a play where he was clearly held by the Cardinals offensive line. Watt was asked about this in his postgame press conference and talked about not getting the holding call from the officials.
"Yup. I don't know, the NFL has something going against me so I don't want to talk any more negatively towards them. I don't know what I did, but, I'll leave it at that."
Every week, there is a handful of plays where Watt is very clearly held, yet he rarely ever gets a holding call to go in his favor. This time, it was such a malicious hold that it resulted in Watt being banged up on the play. He seemed to be in a lot of pain on the sideline and stayed out of the game for a stretch of plays, but eventually made his way back onto the field. It was unclear what the injury was, but Watt mentioned he was fine during his press conference.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' TJ Watt rushes the quarterback against the Cardinals.
Watt not getting holding calls that other premiere pass rushers in the NFL get happens on a consistent, week to week basis. It could be the NFL and it's officials have a vendetta against the Steelers, which many Steelers fans have noticed over the years. Or, the NFL might just not like Watt. This would explain a lot since every week Myles Garrett and Micah Parsons seem to get national recognition while Watt outperforms them or at least plays just as well as them.
In addition to pretty much being ignored on the national stage, Watt is also always a victim of a poor grade from Pro Football Focus. He consistently receives worse grades than Garrett and other pass rushers in the NFL, despite leading them in a lot of the major statistical categories.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' TJ Watt in a Week 13 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Watt has accomplished a lot in his career, and is one of the best defensive players in the league every season. He tied the single-season sack record in 2021 and won the NFL's Defensive Player Of The Year Award. With all of the success he has had and the accolades he has collected throughout his career, one would think the NFL would treat him like the great player he is and try to protect him from getting violently held like he did in Week 13.
Despite almost always producing more than the other elite pass-rushers in the NFL, it always seems he is stuck in the shadows of players like Garrett, Parsons, Nick Bosa, and Aaron Donald. It's unclear why that is, but it certainly does seem like the NFL has something against him. Watt held his tongue and left his comment on the matter short to try and avoid a fine, but he is certainly right. He is not treated the same as the other superstars in the league.
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