Fresh off a nail-biting 34-32 victory against the New York Jets, the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense became a hot topic around the NFL landscape. The Jets offense dominated the league's most expensive defense to the tune of 182 rushing yards, and former Steelers quarterback Justin Fields had perhaps his best overall game as a professional.
The biggest issue for the Steelers' defense was the front seven, who failed to plug up rushing lanes or get to Fields often enough to disrupt the offense. T.J. Watt was uncharacteristically quiet as a pass rusher, with just one pressure and zero sacks.
It was arguably the least impactful Week 1 performance of his career, and it came primarily against rookie Armand Membou. That's a tough pill to swallow for both Watt and the team, especially with his shiny new $123 million contract. This week, however, Watt has a great opportunity to bounce back against a shaky Seahawks offensive line.
Seahawks suspect offensive line could get T.J. Watt back on track for the Pittsburgh Steelers
Despite the lackluster start to the season, Watt still looks like the same guy who has been one of the NFL's very best players for almost a decade. He was avoided like the plague in the run game per usual, and the Jets didn't have to put the ball in the air a ton and give him chances to rush the passer.
Membou is also one of the more athletic tackles to come out of the draft in quite some time, so that matchup was less of a mismatch than you would expect. Not to make excuses for Watt (he certainly wouldn't be doing that), but it's not like he was up against a no-name tackle in Week 1.
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The Seahawks' offensive line is far less talented than the Jets, especially in pass protection. Charles Cross is an ascending left tackle, but his right side counterpart, Abraham Lucas, struggled in their loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Lucas gave up just two pressures, but allowed the only sack of Sam Darnold on the day. Watt also dominated the former third-round pick in their only other meeting back in 2023 before Lucas left the game due to injury.
With no signs of Watt moving around the defense, he should be matched up with Lucas for the vast majority of the game. With how well Cross is playing, I assume Seattle will hope he can handle Alex Highsmith and send help Lucas' way, but it's still a favorable situation for the All-Pro defender.
If Watt struggles again as a pass rusher this week, questions about his status as a top-tier edge defender will only get louder. I certainly am not counting him out anytime soon, but the defense clearly needs him to keep being the same Watt that has rewritten the Steelers' record books.