Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the majority of the 2020 NFL season will be played without the presence of fans in football stadiums. The Pittsburgh Steelers will be missing their faithful supporters who remain to be one of the most passionate and loudest fans in the entire league. Despite playing in front of empty seats, Heinz Field will still be home for linebacker T.J. Watt and the rest of the team.

“I think in our mock games we did at Heinz Field it had a home game feel to it, being able to drive in, being in your home locker room, wearing the black jerseys,” he said recently, via the team’s official website. “All the third-down sounds we are used to . . . they still played the Towel Twirl up on the Jumbotron. Things like that that remind you it’s a home game. Even though the atmosphere isn’t going to be everything we are used to, it will still be nice to be at Heinz Field.”

The Pittsburgh Steelers may also play the Renegade even without fans in attendance which has already been a staple anthem of the team whenever they needed a big stop in crunch time.

“I hope at some point they play it,” he continued. “I always love watching the video and what new wrinkle they add to the video and the explosive, game-changing plays the defense and offense has. I know it will be a lot different without fans, but it will bring back a lot of memories of what the atmosphere should be like and it will juice up the defense for sure.”

The Steelers showed out in their first game of the season against the rebuilding New York Giants. The encounter saw the comeback of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger who steered the team's offense with his 229 passing yards on a 21-of-32 clip along with three touchdown passes.

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Another returning player in wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster scored two touchdowns of his own while sophomore pass-catcher James Washington contributed a score on the endzone for the team. The Steelers defense was formidable with Watt contributing a tackle and an interception in the game.

The Steelers will continue their good showing with a Week 2 matchup against the visiting Denver Broncos on September 20.