Steelers stats are eye-popping with and without T.J. Watt

T.J. Watt might be even more important than we would think. Here are some eye-popping Pittsburgh Steelers stats with and without him on the field. 

How much of a difference can one player really make — especially when we aren’t even talking about a quarterback? Apparently, the answer is a lot. We now have an 11-game sample size of the Pittsburgh Steelers without T.J. Watt and the results… well, they’re not good.

Now that Watt has returned from his pectoral injury and knee surgery, I took the liberty of charting some important stats when he plays and when he doesn’t. The difference is unlike anything I’ve seen.

Since Watt entered the league in 2017, the Steelers are 53-24-2 when he plays; however, they are just 1-10 when he hasn’t been on the field. This is insane, but we aren’t close to finished yet. With Watt, Pittsburgh surrenders just over 20 points per game; without him, the Steelers allow 26 points per contest, according to ESPN stats.

Perhaps the most eye-popping statistic of all is that this Steelers team manages a dismal 1.1 sacks per game when Watt isn’t on the field. However, when he is present, that number skyrockets to 3.4 sacks per game.

Obviously, there are many factors that come into play here. Some would argue that these numbers are a result of playing more difficult opponents and being matched up against much better quarterbacks when Watt happened to miss games. But this really hasn’t been the case.

Dating back to his first season in 2017 until this year, Watt has missed games against quarterbacks like Mike Glennon, Baker Mayfield, Mac Jones, Jacoby Brissett, and Zach Wilson. they lost every single one of the aforementioned contests. It’s hard to think that he doesn’t sway the outcome in at least a few of these games.

Steelers are nothing without T.J. Watt

This is a scary truth that is both good and bad (depending on how you look at it), but the Pittsburgh Steelers really don’t have much to offer when T.J. Watt isn’t on the field. This defense that has had elite seasons since Watt joined the league is well below average without Watt’s presence on the field, and the 1-10 record without him speaks for itself.

This shows just how valuable the reigning Defensive Player of the Year is. In fact, based on these fascinating statistics, you could probably argue that there isn’t another non-quarterback in the league who makes as big of a difference to his football team as Watt does to the Steelers.

The bad thing is that this team just isn’t very talented without their best player. While they do have some notable talent in players like Cameron Heyward and Minhakf Fitzpatrick (as well as some young, up-and-coming talent like George Pickens and Pat Freiermuth) they aren’t rich with talent and their depth is very thin.

I would go as far as to say that the Steelers would be better off starting any of their three quarterbacks if it means that Watt can play; rather than playing the QB of your choice without T.J. Watt.

It simply is insane the difference that T.J. Watt makes to the Pittsburgh Steelers. We hope that we never have to see this team go without him for another extended absence. The next time someone that Watt isn’t one of the biggest impact players in the NFL, show them this.