The Pittsburgh Steelers and the rest of the NFL world are preparing to watch Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs play in their fourth Super Bowl in the last five seasons. Mahomes has become one of the most dominating quarterbacks to ever play the game, the same goes for TJ Watt at outside linebacker. Both players were drafted in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, and both have had tremendous success thus far in their careers.
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Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro quarterback, Patrick Mahomes (15).
Steelers' TJ Watt Reminisces On First Matchup With Mahomes
Mahomes and Watt have squared off against each other three times in their career, including once in the postseason. The Steelers have gone a frustrating 0-3 in those matchups, mainly due to Mahomes' dominance at the quarterback position.
The Steelers took on Mahomes and the Chiefs in his third career start back in Week 2 of the 2018 season, which was his first full season as a starting quarterback in the NFL. Mahomes and the Chiefs came into Pittsburgh and won 42-37, and Watt reminisces on the matchup after being asked what he knew about Mahomes before that matchup in an interview with Pro Football Talk Live.
"We didn't know enough. We definitely didn't know enough. We left that stadium with a whole lot of respect, he still had some weapons. I think Sammy Watkins was on that team at the time, Tyreek [Hill], yeah, so I mean the guy was throwing the ball all around the yard. Probably thought they were going to run the ball a little more that day, but they didn't. We learned a lesson that day."
The league was not aware of just how good Mahomes was at that time. He sat behind Alex Smith during his rookie season in 2017 aside from a Week 17 start in what was a meaningless game for Kansas City due to playoff implications. Mahomes came into Pittsburgh and threw for 326 yards and six touchdowns in the game, while only throwing five incompletions.
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Steelers lost 42-37 after a stunning performance by Patrick Mahomes in 2018.
In that third career start, Mahomes went to battle with Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger threw for over 450 yards and three touchdowns in the game, but it wasn't enough to take down the second-year quarterback. Mahomes won the NFL's MVP Award for his performance during the 2018 season, and he won the award again in 2022. Since he burst onto the scene in 2018, Mahomes has played in three Super Bowls, while winning two of them.
The Steelers have had a hard time handling Mahomes during their matchups. The second time they squared off against him was in the 2021 regular season, and Kansas City destroyed the Steelers by a score of 36-10. Mahomes had another amazing performance, as he threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns.
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T.J. Watt scoops up a loose ball for the first score in Pittsburgh's Wild Card loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022.
The third time Watt and Mahomes matched up against one another was during the playoffs of the 2021 season. The Chiefs won in dominating fashion, beating the Steelers 42-21. Mahomes threw for over 400 yards and five touchdowns in the devastating loss for the Steelers, but Watt also put his fingerprints on the game. He scored the first touchdown of the contest in the second quarter by picking up a fumble and running into the end zone. He also batted down a pass, had two tackles for loss, and sacked Mahomes once.
The Steelers' regular season opponents for 2024 have already been announced, and Mahomes and the Chiefs will be traveling to Pittsburgh. Hopefully the fourth time is the charm for Watt and the Steelers against Mahomes. After three previous matchups, the defense should be more clued in on how to shut down Mahomes, which would help them get their first victory against Kansas City during the Mahomes era.
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