Steelers’ Watt was among best in NFL this season
By Dale Lolley
For the Observer-Reporter
newsroom@observer-reporter.com
The idea that T.J. Watt somehow had a bad season in 2024 is a strange one.
And it shows just how much Watt has raised the bar not only on his own performance, but that of Steelers pass rushers.
Watt finished the season with 61 tackles, 11.5 sacks, a league-best six forced fumbles, 19 tackles for a loss and 27 quarterback hits. He also recovered two fumbles. For that, he was voted the Steelers’ MVP by his teammates for a fifth time.
To put that in perspective no player in team history has won that award five times.
And this season, it’s not like there weren’t other options. Cam Heyward had an outstanding season, as did placekicker Chris Boswell. Both were voted first-team All-Pro.
Watt, meanwhile, “settled” for being second-team All-Pro and one of the five finalists for AP Defensive Player of the Year. He won’t win the award this year, but the fact Watt is a finalist shows how his season was perceived by everyone — except for some Steelers fans.
Yes, Watt didn’t have the 22.5 sacks he did in 2021. Then again, only he and Michael Strahan have ever reached that total. And he didn’t have the 19 sacks he did in 2023, when he led the NFL in that statistic for a third time, something no other player has done since the sack became an official statistic in 1982.
But his team-best 11.5 sacks would have led the Steelers in 26 different seasons since the sack became an official statistic.
And opposing offenses accounted for him with multiple blockers on nearly every one of the 938 defensive snaps he played in 2024. Watt makes an impact simply by being on the field.
Per Pro Football Focus, he was the top-rated run defender in the NFL in 2024, regardless of position.
Sacks are a big part of the game. They’re a big part of Watt’s game. But they’re not the only way he makes an impact.
• The Steelers will select 21st in the NFL Draft. That will be far too low to get one of the top two quarterbacks in this year’s draft – Cam Ward of Miami (Fla.) or Shedeur Sanders of Colorado.
However, the Senior Bowl will be held in the upcoming week in Mobile, Ala., and many of the quarterbacks who are considered sure bets to go after Ward and Sanders are going to be in attendance.
The Senior Bowl rosters are scheduled to include Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, Mississippi’s Jaxson Dart, Will Howard of Ohio State, Dillon Gabriel of Oregon, Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard, Seth Henigan of Memphis and Tyler Shough of Louisville.
It will be interesting to see if Howard and Leonard choose to play in the Senior Bowl given they just squared off in last Monday night’s national championship, where both likely helped their stock with strong runs through the playoffs.
But Milroe, in particular, will be a player to watch.
The Alabama star is a plus-athlete who threw for 2,800 yards in each of the past two seasons while also rushing for more than 1,200 yards and 32 touchdowns over that span. He threw more interceptions this year than scouts would like, but that also came with a coaching change.
Milroe could cement his status as the draft’s No. 3 quarterback with a strong week of practices at the Senior Bowl followed by a good showing at the NFL Scouting Combine at the end of February.
• Perhaps no one is more upset by the Steelers’ exit from the postseason than the Penguins.
Now sports fans in Pittsburgh can realize just how poorly the Penguins have played this season.
After Thursday night’s 5-1 loss at Anaheim, the Penguins have been outscored by opponents by 36 goals. They have the worst differential in the Eastern Conference.
Their 185 goals allowed is easily the most in the conference, as well.
This week’s games
Commanders (plus 6) at Eagles: These two teams split their regular season meetings, with the Eagles winning, 26-18, in Philadelphia and the Commanders holding fort on their home field later in the season, 36-33. But a lot of that second meeting came with Eagles backup Kenny Pickett at quarterback. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels has been on a roll in the playoffs, but he did throw three of his nine interceptions in the two games against Philadelphia. And rookie QBs are 0-5 in conference championships. Take the Eagles, 27-20
Bills (plus 1½) at Chiefs: These two teams met back in Week 11 in Kansas City with the Bills winning, 30-21. Josh Allen threw for 262 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 55 yards and a score. And the Bills picked off Patrick Mahomes twice. The Bills also held the Chiefs to just 259 total yards, their fewest until sitting all their starters in the regular season finale. Allen and Mahomes have split their eight career meetings, 4-4. But three of Mahomes’ wins in those matchups have come in their playoff meetings. Maybe this is just Allen’s year – or maybe that’s just wishful thinking. Take the Bills, 26-24
Last week: 1-2-1 ATS, 2-2 straight up
Overall: 53-47-2 ATS; 68-34 straight up
Dale Lolley hosts The Drive on Steelers Nation Radio and writes a Sunday column for the Observer-Reporter.