The Pittsburgh Steelers are certainly one of the more surprising teams in the NFL this year. That's not necessarily because they have a winning record and are squarely in the playoff picture but rather how good they've been this season. At 8-3, the Steelers currently sit as the three-seed in the AFC playoffs and just handled the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11, moving them to first place in the always-competitive AFC North.
The Steelers haven't impressed everyone apparently, as former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky said on "Get Up!" that he doesn't think Pittsburgh is a Super Bowl contender. Not only that, but Orlovsky decided to get even more blunt by saying that he didn't think the Steelers were even a top-three team. His logic is that the Steelers won't be able to beat quarterbacks like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, or Patrick Mahomes by kicking field goals (even though they just beat Jackson by doing so).
There are probably quite a few people who share the same opinions as Orlovsky but JJ Watt, brother of star Steelers linebacker TJ Watt, isn't one of them. JJ immediately jumped to the defense of his brother's team, slamming the former NFL quarterback on his X account.
"Take the teams, names, etc out of it…
“You’re not gonna beat Team A by kicking only field goals” is a WILD take to make 4 days after LITERALLY beating Team A with only field goals.
That’s like the sports media equivalent of a QB running out the back of their own end zone."
JJ Watt comes to the rescue after Dan Orlovsky criticizes the Steelers
We were all thinking the exact same thing before JJ said it, he just had the stones to direct those comments right at Orlovsky. The Steelers just beat Lamar Jackson by kicking field goals AND Orlovsky's NFL career "highlight" is when he ran out of the back of the end zone for a safety when he was playing for the Lions.
While Orlovsky typically does a good job in his analyst role, this is one of his misses for sure. The Steelers are 8-3 for a reason and despite what he thinks, they're indeed a top three team in the AFC right now. This is hopefully another bit of motivation for the team as they continue to strive for their first division title since 2020.