Getty Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin challenged his defense, which will be playing without T.J. Watt against the Buffalo Bills.
The Pittsburgh Steelers will face the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Wild Card round without superstar edge rusher T.J. Watt. While Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin didn’t undersell the loss of Watt during his January 9 press conference, he still preached his usual “next-man up” approach.
“Obviously, playing without T.J. is significant,” Tomlin told reporters. “But to be quite honest with you, we played without a lot of people this year. It’s just another opportunity for us to strike a blow for team and to display what team really means.”
During his press conference, Tomlin officially ruled out Watt playing against the Bills. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on January 6 that the Defensive Player of the Year candidate suffered a “Grade 3” MCL sprain, which is typically a multi-week injury.
Watt sustained the injury in the second half of the Week 18 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.
Similar to quarterback injuries in the NFL, it’s near impossible to replace a defensive star such as Watt. He led the NFL in sacks for the third time in four year during 2023. He finished the season with 19 sacks, 19 tackles for loss, 36 quarterback hits, 8 pass defenses, 4 forced fumbles and an interception.
Mike Tomlin Touts Steelers Edge Rushing Depth
Tomlin often refers to replacing an injured player as not “a one-man job.” Without Watt, who the Steelers head coach called “one-of-a-kind” on January 9, multiple players stepping up becomes an even bigger focus.
The Steelers appear to have the edge rushers capable of doing that.
“We’ve got depth at that position. That’s why we went out and thoughtfully acquired Markus Golden. That’s why we drafted [Nick] Herbig,” Tomlin told reporters. “We’re as deep at that position as we’ve been in some time. We’re comfortable with the quality of depth.”
On top of discussing Markus Golden and Nick Herbig, Tomlin also hyped 2022 sixth-round pick Kyron Johnson.
“Johnson has had a helmet for the last number of weeks,” Tomlin said. “Although his contributions have been primarily on special teams, there’s another guy at the position that knows what to do that’s available to us.”
The Steelers head coach described replacing Watt as similar to what the team had to do in the first two months of the season when defensive lineman Cameron Heyward missed six games.
Watt has averaged more than a sack per game over the past six seasons. There’s no way to replace that production. But Golden has recorded three 10-sack seasons in his career, and Herbig has played well as a rookie in limited playing time.
Golden and Herbig combined for 3 sacks and 6 tackles for loss in games after Thanksgiving.
Those two edge rushers should prevent a steep drop off on the edge of Pittsburgh’s defense without Watt. It could also hinder Buffalo’s chances of double-teaming fellow edge rusher Alex Highsmith in every passing situation during the playoff matchup.
Highsmith, Golden and Herbig all posted Pro Football Focus player grades of 80 (out of 100) or better during the regular season. Among Steelers defenders with at least 25 defensive snaps this season, only Watt posted a better grade.
Tomlin Asks Entire Steelers Defense to Step Up in Watt’s Absence
In addition to putting his edge rushing depth on notice, Tomlin challenged the entire Steelers defense.
The Pittsburgh head coach said the team will not just be counting on the depth along the edge to replace Watt, but the entire Steelers defense.
“It will be a mix of all of the above,” Tomlin said. “As I mentioned, you’ve got a few lines in the water when you’re trying to replace the impact of a guy like T.J.”
The Steelers will get back suspended safety Damontae Kazee for the postseason. That could allow veteran Patrick Peterson to move back to cornerback. The team also still has safety Eric Rowe and linebacker Myles Jack available from the practice squad to solidify the middle of the defense.
It’s possible the Steelers call more blitzes with those veterans to create pressure on Bills quarterback Josh Allen. The Steelers will likely have to pull out all the stops to beat the Bills on the road without Watt.