It was only two months ago that the Pittsburgh Steelers held a 2-6 record and were on the outside looking in on the AFC playoff picture. Many threw in the towel on the Steelers’ season, but not T.J. Watt.
Even as the Steelers sat near the bottom of the AFC standings at their bye week in November, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year winner was much confident that his team would be able to turn the tide on its campaign.
“I always feel confident in the guys in this locker room,” Watt said on Friday. “It's one of those things where there was a lot of football left to be played at the time.
“We knew we needed to turn it around and you can go one of two ways, but we weren't going to lay down by any means.”
The Steelers currently hold the No. 9 seed in the AFC, and their playoff hopes are still alive heading into the final week of the regular season. Pittsburgh boasts a 6-2 record in its previous eight contests, and it notched wins in its last two matchups against the Las Vegas Raiders and the Baltimore Ravens. Kenny Pickett anchored game-winning drives in both games to keep Pittsburgh right in the mix for a playoff spot in the conference.
In the big picture, Watt is simply focused on taking care of business in Week 18.
“We're still alive,” Watt said. “We still have a pulse. We're trying to win this game and see where the chips fall. You can't go into a game tight. We want to be loose. We had a really good week of practice. We are young, but we've been very, very focused. And each week we've gotten more focused.
“I don't want guys being super tight going into this game.”
For the Steelers to lock up the No. 7 seed, they need to defeat the Cleveland Browns and the Miami Dolphins and the New England Patriots each must come away with a loss in Week 18. At the least for Pittsburgh, a win over Cleveland on Sunday will clinch it a winning season for the third consecutive year.
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