There was plenty of blame to go around after the Steelers barely beat Baltimore so it's no wonder there is even more blame going around after they finally lost a game, 23-17 to Washington.
But blaming TJ Watt?
Watt is not only the Steelers best player he may be the NFL's best defensive player. He was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Month for November and is certainly one of the favorites for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
After another big statistical game Monday - 1 sack, 2 TFLs, 4 QHs - Watt leads the NFL with 12 sacks and 19 tackles for loss. Plus, he has hit the opposing quarterback 37 times in 12 games.
In no way is Watt the sole reason the Steelers finally lost … 23-17 to Washington.
Yet, it was a play Watt did not make (among countless others his teammates also did not make) that cost the Steelers a shot at an undefeated season.
After they'd begun to blow a 14-0 lead, the Steelers managed a field goal to go up, 17-10, early in the fourth quarter. On the subsequent series, Watt stripped JD McKissick at the Washington 36 yard and had a chance to fall on the ball which would have given the Steelers excellent field position.
But Watt had grander ideas. "Yeah, tried to scoop and score and make a play for my team," Watt explained, "just couldn't get a good enough hold on it and the other guy (Washington TE Logan Thomas) made a good play on it."
Although Washington ended up punting two plays later, the Steelers offense continued to sputter so who knows if they actually would have taken advantage had Watt chosen to simply fall on the ball.
Even just a field goal at that point, if successful, would have led to different scenarios as the fourth quarter played out but that is just another "if" in a season of "ifs" which, until Monday, had worked to the Steelers' favor.
You can't even call what Watt did a "mistake." He saw a chance to make a big play. Heck, maybe he figured he had a good a chance to score as his offense.
Watt did not cost the Steelers a victory Monday evening, or Monday night, or whenever the game was. But maybe it shows that sometimes even the best NFL's players can come up short, as well.
