What makes T.J Watt’s record pace with Steelers so impressive?

T.J. Watt is having a great season, but his 2021 campaign is even more impressive when you consider the circumstances the Steelers star has dealt with.

When it comes to T.J. Watt, you aren’t going to find a lot of football fans who deny that he is currently one of the best players in the NFL. Watt plays with remarkable power and a great feel for the game to go with his nasty football demeanor. His exceptionally athletic traits, impressive family lineage, and passion for the game have helped make him one of the greatest players at the edge defender position in his generation.

There’s been a lot of buzz surrounding Watt in recent weeks as the Steelers star pupil is within striking distance of the NFL’s all-time single-season sack record. This is a record currently held by Michael Strahan since his dominant 22.5-sack performance in 2001. With some great games down the stretch, Watt could make history with one of the most prestigious individual accomplishments an NFL defender can hope for.

Recently, ESPN’s Seth Walder updated his pass-rush productivity chart that shows where the top edge defenders rank in terms of their pass-rush win rate and double-team rate. Watt is close to the top:

Some have argued with me that Watt isn’t deserving of being the Defensive Player of the Year this season based on some advanced metrics like this. While Myles Garrett may have a higher win rate in addition to being double-teamed more frequently, Watt’s accomplishments become even more impressive when you consider what he has been dealing with this year.

Prior to the Steelers Week 14 game against the Minnesota Vikings, Watt has earned a whopping 16.0 sacks, 16 tackles for a loss, 26 quarterback hits, and 37 pressures to go with 4 forced fumbles this season, via Pro Football Reference. Remarkably, this elite production has come despite a laundry list of setbacks this season:

What makes the Steelers star so impressive

Technically, we could start as far back as training camp. As he waited for his lofty contract extension (one he clearly was deserving of), Watt sat out of team drills for nearly the entire summer and didn’t suit up for a single preseason game.

While he was off to a rocking start after the Buffalo game in Week 1, Watt injured his groin just 16 snaps into Week 2 against the Las Vegas Raiders. From there, the setbacks started to pile on.

Over the course of the season, Watt has been at the mercy of groin, knee, and hip injuries in addition to missing multiple practices on the COVID list. Collectively, Watt has missed roughly 3.5 games this year because of injuries and has played through his bumps and bruises after missing ample practice time this year.

Remarkably, the two-time All-Pro edge defender has still found a way to be the NFL’s leading sack and TFL artist fourteen weeks into the 2021 season.

You could argue that T.J. Watt hasn’t been better than he was last season, but considering everything he has dealt with this year, it’s absurd that he’s even in a position to potentially crack the NFL sack record in 2021. When healthy, Watt is one of the most dominant players in the league at his position, and I don’t think you will find many who would argue otherwise.