The Tennessee Titans are coming off an incredible 28-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, where the offense looked revitalized with rookie quarterback Will Levis under center.
The highs of last week won’t last long, though, as the team now has to shift its focus to going on the road to take on a formidable Pittsburgh Steelers team on Thursday night.
These games against Pittsburgh tend to be low-scoring physical battles in all three phases. The Steelers are led by five-time Pro Bowler three-time first-team All-Pro, and former Defensive Player of the Year, T.J. Watt.
Unsurprisingly, he’s the obvious choice for this week’s “gimme him” article.
Watt is the definition of a game-wrecker along the edge who is capable of not only taking over any given drive, but an entire game if the offense doesn’t have a sufficient plan against him.
The Wisconsin product is currently tied for the third-most sacks on the year with 8.5, while also having the third-highest overall grade amongst all edge rushers (91.3), per Pro Football Focus.
Ghost/Rip sack by TJ Watt. Have a pass rush plan! #passrush #steelers
via @Steelersdepot pic.twitter.com/8yW0SYRAkN
— DLineVids (@dlinevids1) October 29, 2023
Watt has high marks all across the board, ranking in the top six at his position in pass-rush grade (89.9, sixth highest), run-defense grade (80.3, sixth highest), and coverage grade (79.6, third highest).
What can't TJ Watt do?
(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/Rfeu5Ipr1K
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) October 22, 2023
Since 2019, the Steelers pass-rusher has earned an overall grade of at least 89.6 in four of his last five seasons. Over his seven-year career, Watt has already accumulated an absurd 86 sacks, and that’s with him missing a combined 10 games.
Adding Watt to any defense would instantly raise the entire unit, which is why he makes this an easy decision.