I really appreciate the self-awareness here. Now that T.J. Watt is under contract for the foreseeable future with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he has two huge goals in mind. Winning a Super Bowl, and winning a playoff game. Ever since being a first-round pick out of Wisconsin in 2017, the Steelers have yet to advance in the postseason. Mike Tomlin has been the team's head coach for a generation already...
Watt may be on the wrong side of 30, but he is not ready to exit his prime just yet. He knows what is at stake and that things have to change when it counts for the Steelers. While I doubt Pittsburgh is going to achieve what it wants to with this current core, I applaud Watt for knowing his reputation is on the line. I think his comments about not winning in the playoffs has Tomlin under a ton of pressure.
Watt touched on how he feels about not winning a playoff game when talking to Graham Bensinger.
"Winning a Super Bowl is no doubt motivating me, and winning a playoff game is absolutely motivating me. It is something we haven't been able to do since I've been there. I think that's absolutely unacceptable and that is attached to my name right now. And I have to answer for it, as much as it sucks. When you say T.J. Watt, you say T.J. Watt has not won a playoff game. It genuinely bothers me because I'm part of those teams."
Here is a clip of Watt's conversation with Bensinger of In Depth with Graham Bensinger on YouTube.
So much is riding on the Steelers to get it done this fall during their lone season with Aaron Rodgers.
T.J. Watt knows he has to be the one to change his playoff loss narrative
Once a narrative starts, it is hard to stop. It may stink for Watt to have his name attached to this kind of playoff futility in Pittsburgh, it is his reality. Obviously, I have a lot of thoughts on the matter, but I am going to do my best to streamline them now. First off, this is even more proof that the NFL is a quarterback-driven league. For as great as Watt is, it is hard for a non-quarterback to be as impactful.
The second is Watt choosing to remain with the Steelers for a second decade tells me that while he does think things could change for the better, he was not that willing to step out of his comfort zone and leave for another team. That is easier said than done for all of us, so I really do not blame him in that. The third is my most critical. I am done with Tomlin and I do not trust Omar Khan all that much...
Ownership may play a part in this as well, but the Steelers have lost their way a bit under their current leadership. All three of the Steelers' iconic head coaches in Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Tomlin have a common thread for how they handled adversity. They attacked it head-on. Where Tomlin loses me is much of the Steelers' adversity these days is self-inflicted. They are not a buttoned-up franchise...
So how do we get back to good? If the Steelers fail to win a playoff game this season, or miss the playoffs entirely, they need to get a new head coach. Tomlin has been here for a very long time. He will be in Canton one day. I am just afraid things have gotten completely stale. How Yinzers feel about the Steelers and how the rest of the NFL feels about them are two completely separate entities right now.
Regardless of what happens to the Steelers this year, they need to make it a priority to draft a quarterback in the first round next spring. Whether it be Drew Allar, Cade Klubnik, Garrett Nussmeier, LaNorris Sellers or somebody we are not even thinking about, someone will be worthy enough for the Steelers to pull the trigger on, when they could not do it with Jaxson Dart. I get it, but this is the future.
Watt can earn his contract by becoming a better leader for this team ahead of a brighter tomorrow.