5 winners and 4 losers from Steelers 27-24 win vs. Titans

Winner: T.J. Watt

To be fair, I could put T.J. Watt on the winners list almost every week. His rare ability to beat most tackles mixed in with his unhuman physical traits makes him one of the hardest players to block on the Steelers defense. While he only had one sack, he made his presence felt consistently throughout the day. He was a force off the edge and easily one of the brightest spots on the Steelers team.

While his pass-rushing ability was certainly on display, where he really made his money was on rushing plays. He would beat his man and pop into the backfield early. As a result, he had quite a few tackles right around, and even behind the line of scrimmage. While this could be expected against most offenses, this was Derrick Henry we were talking about, and Watt was a prime reason the Steelers shut him down.

Had Watt not played at his usual level of excellence, the Steelers may have found themselves on the other side of the win this week. He won most of the snaps he played, provided plenty of pressure, and stopped the best running back in the league. While the excellence in pass-rushing is expected at this point, his ability to stop the run proved vital this week.