The story for the Pittsburgh Steelers is the same as it usually is: they had an overall decent season, but they choked it away in the end and didn't seem too interested in greatness. When you start 10-3, but fail to win a game after that and get annihilated in the first round of the playoffs, it feels like a lost season. Murphy's Law struck; everything that could go wrong did, whether it was in the players' control, the coaches' control, or nobody's control at all. The whole organization failed from top to bottom.
AP
Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebackers, Alex Highsmith (left) and TJ Watt (right) sit on the sideline during a home game in Pittsburgh, PA at Acrisure Stadium.
In an interview during the locker cleanout, TJ Watt spoke about his thoughts on the five-game losing streak that painfully ended their season.
"Obviously, I'm very frustrated with how things ended," admitted Watt. "That's not just with the last game; that's with the last month of football. It's a collection of things, and it starts with myself. I need to play better; we need to play better. There’s not one thing that needs to be fixed. There’s a lot of things."
No one on that team should be happy about the season with how it ended. There was a lot of finger-pointing going around as miscommunication and blown assignments became the new norm. The locker room became toxic as everyone was angry at each other, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
Joe Sargent / Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Steelers defender TJ Watt (90) has many personal accolades, but has yet to experience what a playoff victory.
While Watt was not in the middle of all that, he had his own issues going on. No one in the league had been getting chipped like he was, and it led to a severe drop in production on the field. He failed to even record a stat in the Wild Card Round and in Week 18. He was invisible on the field in back-to-back weeks.
Watt has also been very vocal about his desires to finally win his first playoff game. Instead, he gets the standard: another one-and-done where he and his team look like bottom-feeders that don't belong in January. The Steelers have gone 0-6 in the playoffs since he was drafted, and they looked terrible in each contest.
Despite all those failures, Watt confidently said that he wants to stay in Pittsburgh and help change the narrative. Instead of leaving the team to chase rings elsewhere, he wants to make the Steelers a team that can and will achieve that glory. Hopefully, he can turn those frustrations into production and get back to playing at a generational level.
Alysa Rubin / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' All-Pro edge rusher TJ Watt (90) practices ahead of Pittsburgh's Week 3 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024.
Steelers May Not Be Able To Get Problems Fixed
There are so many issues with the defense, as Watt mentioned. However, many of these problems go beyond execution, even if the players won't say that out loud. Those kinds of issues have to be fixed by the front office, but they either can't or won't do much to truly address them.
Even though the defense underachieved and did more bickering than playmaking at the end of the season, most of those players are here to stay. They have roughly $168.5 million invested in that unit, so they likely can't just break up the core and start fresh.
One could look at the coaching of that top-dollar defense. Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin and Head Coach Mike Tomlin seem to stay stubborn to their outdated schemes. Despite that, the Steelers rarely ever fire coaches, so both are likely here to stay.
Watt is right about how many things need to be fixed. The problem is it might not happen for a few years, barring a sudden change of heart from one or more parties.
What do you think about Watt's feelings towards the 2024 season? Let us know in the comments below.
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