When it comes to the NFL, the mark of a truly great player is the ability to do two things. First, you elevate the play of those around you and second, you find a way to make plays regardless of what the opponent tries to do.
Over the course of the last two games, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt has been exposed and this statistic is as staggering as any from what has been a truly disappointing season.
Watt hasn’t registered a single statistic in 193 straight defensive snaps. This goes all the way back to the Steelers showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day.
Obviously some of the onus for Watt’s struggles falls on him. We don’t really see many plays where Watt takes the play off but for sure no player who is a former Defensive Player of the Year should be shutout completely.
But in going back over those two games, it’s even more obvious that the scheme the Steelers run does Watt no favors. We can talk about double and triple teams but every great pass rusher faces that. It’s how the team accounts for it that matters and the last two games, DC Teryl Austin has failed.
