In a sport like football, it's difficult to pin the credit regarding defensive success on just one player. The defensive unit on the field must be a cohesive one, as when one part of the system can't keep up, the rest of the system falters. However, in the case of the Pittsburgh Steelers, linebacker TJ Watt is the system, and his prolonged absence has hurt the Steelers in so many ways.
The Steelers' latest 38-3 defeat against the Buffalo Bills was yet another indication that TJ Watt is extremely instrumental to the Steelers' success. Pittsburgh's defense is as sturdy as a wet crumpled piece of paper without the 28-year old linebacker.
In a post made by Reddit user Asphaltjungle33 in the NFL subreddit, it was pointed out that the Steelers have only amassed four sacks in the past four games without Watt's services after totaling seven team sacks during their Week 1 victory against the reigning Super Bowl runner-up Cincinnati Bengals.
In addition, the Steelers can't seem to win without Watt. The Steelers have gone 0-8 without Watt since his arrival in the team back in 2017, compared to an impressive 52-24-2 record when he's played at least one snap.
u/Asphaltjungle33 then added an opinion regarding the TJ Watt situation that I'm certain almost all Steelers fans will agree with.
“The impact of Watt on the Steelers is immeasurable. You can only truly see it if you watch them with him and without him. Our defense is a complete shell of itself without him, which is crazy because they looked elite week 1. They’re maybe more physically gifted defensive players in the league outside of TJ ([Aaron] Donald, Micah [Parsons], Myles [Garrett]) but I’m not sure anyone is more vital to their teams success than TJ is to the steelers,” u/Asphaltjungle33 wrote.
At the end of the day, the Steelers front office should take some of the blame for not having built a deep enough defensive outfit that could withstand the absence of TJ Watt. Watt, who suffered a pectoral injury and was expected to return in Week 8 at the soonest, is slated to miss even more time after he had surgery to improve the condition of his knee.
The Steelers, who will face Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Week 6, will more than likely struggle to hold their opponents in check yet again and for the weeks to come to boot.