The recent injury to TJ Watt has completely derailed the Pittsburgh Steelers. The star edge rusher has been the heart of the defense ever since he was drafted by the team. Pittsburgh is a completely different team without Watt, and it shows in their record without him. The team is 0-6 in games without their defensive ace.

Ahead of the Steelers' Week 4 clash against the New York Jets, Cam Heyward talked to reporters about TJ Watt's absence. The All-Pro defensive tackle admitted that he had to be better without his mate on defense. Here's his full comments on the matter. (via NFL.com)

“For me, I look at it as I have to step up,” Cam Heyward said. “I have to be a better player on the field. It's not me replacing T.J (Watt). It's my technique that has to be a lot better. I think every (Steelers) player should look to do that. Every player should look toward raising their level when you've got guys out.”

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Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan next to Pittsburgh Steelers edge defender Alex Highsmith. Khan has a speech bubble that says “Thank you, Alex.”

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Courtland Sutton wearing a Steelers jersey next to a Steelers logo

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Justin Fields in a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform on one side, Mike Tomlin on the other side, a bunch of the big eyes emojis in the background

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The Steelers clearly have a lot of talent in their defensive roster even without TJ Watt. With players like Heyward, Alex Highsmith, and Minkah Fitzpatrick, they should still be good enough to win games. It's just a matter of finding ways to win without Watt taking all of the attention for them.

Perhaps a more pressing issue for the Steelers this season is their offense. A combination of mediocre quarterback play and questionable play-calling has haunted Pittsburgh in the last few games. Without Watt, the offense must find a way to put pressure off the defense by scoring points.