PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) — If you're still healing from the Steelers' first loss of the season, rest assured, there's a silver lining.
Pro Football Focus revealed on Twitter that the Pittsburgh Steelers have the top-rated defense despite the now-imperfect record.
And with that highest-graded defense, T.J. Watt is leading the way.
Watt posted the best score of any Steeler in the game against the Washington Football Team with a 91.4.
For reference, Ben Roethlisberger had the highest grade on offense with a 79.3.
More so, Watt is also in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation, and PFF has the metrics to support that.
According to PFF's main account, Watt is first in overall defensive grades, first place in pressure percentage with 17.2%, and second place in the league with 92 total pressures.
I'm not a mathematician, but placing first, first, and second in three major categories merits consideration for DPOY.
As for the Steelers' defense, I would expect the same stalwart performances for the last quarter of the season.
The team has had the highest-rated defense since at least Oct. 20.
A defensive-performance plummet would be unlikely given the unit's consistency for the bulk of the season already.