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The Pittsburgh Steelers will lean heavily upon Najee Harris this year, but ultimately, the second-year running back will not be the team's X-factor in the 2022 NFL season. Despite his clear role as the lead running back and the high expectations surrounding Harris, there's another player who will prove more critical to the Steelers' success in 2022.
There were a plethora of changes that took place within the organization this year. Omar Khan took over the GM role after Kevin Colbert stepped down, the stadium re-branded from Heinz Field to Acrisure Stadium, and Ben Roethlisberger retired and was replaced by Mitchell Trubisky.
While the Steelers will look quite different on offense, it's their defense that will make or break them in 2022. The offense will likely have its up and downs as Trubisky gets more comfortable in his role. In turn, that will amplify the pressure on Pittsburgh's defense to make big stops and keep opposing teams out of the end zone. With the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in T.J. Watt ready to wreak havoc, he will largely determine the fate of the team.
With all that in mind, let's take a look at why Watt is the Steelers' X-factor for the 2022 NFL season.
Steelers' X-Factor: T.J. Watt
T.J. Watt has done nothing but produce since entering the league. In 77 NFL games, Watt has recorded 72.0 sacks. He's a three-time First-Team All-Pro selectee, having earned the honors in each of the last three years, while also boasting four Pro Bowls throughout his five NFL seasons.
With Watt putting in work in the trenches, not only is he a threat to rack up a multitude of sacks and quarterback pressures, but he'll also make the job easier for his linemates. Offensive lines will have to pay extra attention to the Steelers' wrecking ball, which could open up pass-rushing opportunities for teammates.
Last season, T.J. Watt featured in 15 of the Steelers' 17 games. He recorded 22.5 sacks, tying the long-standing record held by Michael Strahan, needing one fewer game than the Giants' legend did to achieve the feat. In addition to putting his claim on the sack record, Watt led the league with 21 tackles for loss, the second year in a row he led that category. He added 64 tackles, 39 QB hits, 5 forced fumbles, 7 pass defenses, and 3 fumble recoveries.
In the two games Watt missed last season, the Steelers were 0-2. They surrendered 24 points against the Bengals in Week 3, and 41 points in the loss against the Chargers in Week 11. When Watt was healthy last year, the Steelers surrendered 20 or fewer points in 9 of his 15 games. The team went 9-5-1 with Watt on the field, and only let up 35+ points in three of those games. Of those three games, Watt was on the field for more than 55% of snaps in just one.
Najee Harris will certainly be the focal point of the Steelers' offense, but Pittsburgh isn't typically a team that wins by running up the score. In 2021, the Steelers scored more than 24 points in just 5 of their 17 games. Most of their games were low-scoring affairs. That shows a large reliance on the defense. If Trubisky, Harris, and Co. can't find a way to get into the end zone, as the Steelers often struggled to do in 2021, the burden of keeping the game close falls onto the defense. That is where T.J. Watt will need to step up and carry this team in any way he can. He has a knack for making big plays in big spots, and it's more than likely that the Steelers will be in need of that on at least a few occasions in 2022.
Trubisky has all the weapons to succeed in Pittsburgh's offense, flanked by three quality wide receivers in Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, and rookie George Pickens, as well as emerging tight end Pat Freiermuth, and of course, Harris in the backfield. However, the jury is still out on whether Trubisky is truly the right guy to lead this Steelers team offensively. While the team pledged its faith to Trubisky by naming him its starter and a captain, it's the defense that will really be the decisive factor in close games for the Steelers in the 2022 NFL season.
With T.J. Watt coming off a career year and the Steelers adding some more quality pieces around him such as Myles Jack and Larry Ogunjobi, the EDGE rusher has all the makings of another DPOY-esque campaign. The Steelers will be relying on him to be at the top of his game, and he'll be looking to prove that he can replicate the monstrous numbers he recorded in 2021 as the heart and soul of the defensive unit in Pittsburgh.
