The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to lock up T.J. Watt to a three-year, $123 million contract extension before training camp, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history (in terms of average annual earnings). But there's something still eating at Watt's core: his lack of playoff success.
Watt has done everything from leading the NFL in forced fumbles since coming into the league to tying Michael Strahan's single-season sack record (22.5) to becoming the second-fastest player in NFL history to reach the 100-sack mark, behind only the legendary Reggie White. However, despite compiling an otherwise Hall of Fame resume, Watt knows that must be erased.
Watt sat down with Graham Bensinger, where he explained why competing in the playoffs and winning a Super Bowl is what continues to drive him.
"Winning a Super Bowl is no doubt motivating me, and winning a playoff game is absolutely motivating me," Watt said. "It is something we haven’t been able to do since I’ve been there. I think that’s absolutely unacceptable, and that is attached to my name right now. And I have to answer for it, as much as it sucks."
The Steelers star painfully pointed out the fact that he doesn't have a single playoff victory to his name, and he knows that folks in the NFL community have taken notice.
"When you say T.J. Watt, you say T.J. Watt has not won a playoff game," Watt continued. "It genuinely bothers me because I’m part of those teams."
T.J. Watt should not be defined by his lack of playoff success with the Pittsburgh Steelers
When you pay an edge rusher like a quarterback, you expect to get quarterback-level production. But it doesn't really work that way. An individual defensive player can only be responsible for so much of the team's success, and blaming your star defender for a lack of playoff wins is hardly sensible.
Watt has been brilliant over the years, disrupting quarterbacks, taking the ball away, and wreaking havoc in the backfield. This led to some of the top defenses in the league back in 2019 and 2020.
But a defensive player can't be held responsible for the team's inability to get quality quarterback play.
Watt was a first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, which means he didn't join the team until Ben Roethlisberger was already 35 years old. When the Steelers drafted Watt, Pittsburgh's defense was still trying to find its groove. Meanwhile, Roethlisberger's performance would quickly decline. After suffering a season-ending elbow injury just two games into the 2019 season, Big Ben was never the same.
Watt has been at the mercy of quarterback play from an aged-out Roethlisberger, Mitch Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, Devlin Hodges, Kenny Pickett, Justin Fields, and a 36-year-old Russell Wilson. Hardly the recipe for success in the AFC Playoff race.
Watt's best playoff performance came against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs when he scored a defensive touchdown on a fumble recovery and defended a pass that resulted in a Devin Bush interception. Despite holding a 7-0 lead over the Chiefs and keeping Mahomes contained for most of the first half, the offense did nothing to aid Pittsburgh's defense, and Kansas City would eventually run away with a win.
When you get into the postseason, there's only so much you can ask of one overworked star defensive player. The rest of the team needs to show up for T.J. Watt to have playoff success, and the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year should not be defined by his team's lack of wins in the postseason.