PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – There was no trying to sugar-coat it when it comes to losing TJ Watt for the playoff game Sunday against the Bills. Head coach Mike Tomlin confirming on Tuesday the former Defensive Player of the Year is out with a knee injury. He called Watt ‘one of a kind’.
“Playing without TJ is significant,” Tomlin said.
Then the Steelers head coach went back to try and compare it to other injuries this team has overcome to get into the playoffs.
“We’ve played without a lot of people this year,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “It’s just another opportunity for us to strike a blow for team and to display what team really means. A collective of individuals that work together in an effort to produce an outcome.”
It’s like Tomlin was reading from a dictionary. He said it’s not a one-man job in replacing Watt, comparing it to when they lost Cam Heyward for a few games. He said it will be a committee approach.
While they’ve won without other stars, they haven’t won without Watt. The Steelers are 1-10 without Watt since he was drafted in 2017. He has 19 of the team’s 47 sacks this year and was the leading tackler in the Ravens game before leaving with the knee injury.
They did sign veteran Markus Golden, who has 51 career sacks including four this season in limited action. They also have rookie Nick Herbig from Watt’s alma mater. The fourth-round pick has three sacks this year with a pair of forced fumbles.
“We got depth at that position,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “We are as deep at that position as we have been in some time. We are comfortable in the quality of depth.”
Tomlin also included Kyron Johnson, a second-year outside linebacker who has played special teams for the Steelers after doing the same for Philadelphia last season.
“We have an appropriate number of people,” Tomlin said. “We have guys who are capable. We have guys who have been here. We have guys who know what to do. We are going to utilize all of that.”
There is the likelihood of getting Minkah Fitzpatrick and Damontae Kazee back, it should help. The reality is it’s only been done once and now it’s the postseason playing at Josh Allen and the Bills. It’s not just the next man up.