Pittsburgh Steelers: T.J. Watt looks incredible as practice footage emerges

Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt looked to be making excellent progress on his return from injury in footage that emerged yesterday. 

To call someone a ‘one-man team’ might be a little bit of an insult, especially in the sport of American Football as there are so many intricate pieces that interlock, from the coaches drawing up the plays, to the offensive line making sure there’s enough protection to get it going, the skill players getting in the right position and the quarterback putting the ball in the right spot. And that’s just on offense.

The same goes for defense as well, from the line getting penetration through the centre, guards and tackles, linebackers cashing after the ball carrier and defensive backs keeping track of the ball through the air to make an interception.

However, when it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the argument can be made that they are a one-man team as a result of the play, and the absence of, T.J. Watt. 

The Steelers have had a very rough start to the year, after winning their firsty game against the Cincinnati Bengals, they fell to consecutive defeats to the New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns to fall to 1-2, and a large portion of that can be attributed to the absence of Watt.

The stats in the past have shown just how much his absence is felt whenever he doesn’t play for the Steelers:

Steelers with and without T.J. Watt since he entered the league in 2017, via @pfref. pic.twitter.com/O5mYOy6TMz

And it’s no coincidence that in their first game they were able to generate five turnovers and seven sacks all game, but in the two games since they’ve only managed to get one turnover and two sacks, with the 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year missing both of those with a