T.J. Watt calls himself out for the Steelers ending the season on a five-game losing streak
The epitome of a leader is taking accountability when things go wrong and deflecting praise when they go right. That's what T.J. Watt has done his whole career, and he continued the trend in his final media availability of the season on Monday. Only this time, his criticism may have been true… T.J. Watt Takes […]
The epitome of a leader is taking accountability when things go wrong and deflecting praise when they go right.
That's what T.J. Watt has done his whole career, and he continued the trend in his final media availability of the season on Monday.
Only this time, his criticism may have been true…
T.J. Watt Takes Blame for Steelers Struggles
“I'm very frustrated with how things ended and that's not just with the last game, that's with the last month of football and it's a collection of things and it starts with myself and I need to play better. We need to play better," said Watt on Monday.
It's hard to say that a league-leading six forced fumbles is a down year for Watt, but he recorded the least amount of sacks in his career (11.5) when playing 15 or more games since his rookie season.
Watt was also unable to record a sack in the last three games of the regular season and didn't record a single stat in the season-ending playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
That has led some to wonder if now is the time to trade T.J. Watt. He heads into the 2025 season on the final year of his deal and in his age 31 season, meaning this could be the last offseason where Pittsburgh could fetch significant capital for him.
But for Watt, he wants to find the solution to Pittsburgh's problems:
“I don’t want to leave this place … I want to be part of the solution…
"…It gets more and more frustrating as the years go by, added Watt. "Tough conversations need to be had. We can't keep doing the same thing and expect different results. That's starting with myself."
The tough conversations that Watt is referring to likely include changes in coaching and personnel. You can't be the league's highest-paid defense and let up over 300 rushing yards and 400 total yards against a division rival before the third quarter ends.
So while a lot of the talk surrounds trading Mike Tomlin, making a change at QB, and adding more WRs, the heart, and soul of the foundation of the team is what needs a hard look.
And for Watt, he knows that starts and ends with him, the face of a franchise that doesn't know up from down right now.
