Steelers' TJ Watt Has Clear Path To Dominance After Aaron Glenn's Comments: "Have To Do Everything We Can To Help Him"

The Pittsburgh Steelers have their first regular season matchup of 2025 on Sunday against the New York Jets, and it is going to be interesting to see how the team plays with all the new additions that have come in throughout the 2025 offseason. Key moves were made on both sides of the football, with some of the most notable ones being Aaron Rodgers signing on to be the starting quarterback, and Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay joining the secondary. The defense will have a chance to dominate against the Jets' offense and quarterback Justin Fields, especially with TJ Watt coming off of the edge.

Watt has been one of the better pass rushers in the NFL ever since entering the league back in 2017. He was the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL for a brief moment during the 2025 offseason prior to Micah Parsons supplanting him. He has been completely dominant in some games, and he has the chance to be that on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. For the majority of the game, he will be lining up across from a rookie right tackle in Armand Membou, and Jets Head Coach Aaron Glenn spoke about that with the media on Tuesday.

"Man, another guy that is at the top of his game," Glenn said about Watt. "He is one of the elite pass rushers in this league, and I don’t want to just sit there and talk about his pass rush, because you watch him against the run, he does some pretty outstanding things too. Listen, Membou knows he has a tough job ahead of him. We all know that. We have to do everything we can to help him. This week’s practice is going to be vital to him, to make sure he’s on point."

The Jets selected Membou in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft with the seventh overall pick. He played his college football at Missouri, and he rose up draft boards throughout the pre-draft process. He earned the starting job at right tackle, but he has a significant challenge coming his way in Week 1 with Watt.

Glenn emphasized that this matchup is going to be a challenge for Membou, and he also stated that the Jets are going to be doing everything possible to help him out. This means a tight end lining up besides him to chip Watt, or a running back coming out of the backfield to help block the outside linebacker in passing situations. These are both ways other teams have mitigated the damage that Watt can do during any given week.

Watt has been able to play extremely well in season openers as of late. In 2024, he recorded a sack, a fumble recovery, and two tackles for loss while playing the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1. He also had a sack taken away from him when he was wrongfully called offsides. In 2023, the Steelers were dominated by the San Francisco 49ers, but Watt recorded three sacks and forced two fumbles, while recovering one. He dominates in Week 1, and that trend could continue against the Jets.

Steelers' TJ Watt Should Have More Time To Get To The Passer

One of the best ways to mitigate a good pass rush is by getting the ball out quick. Pittsburgh upgraded its secondary by bringing in Slay and Ramsey, which should buy some more time for the defensive front to affect the quarterback. In addition to that, Fields has a history of struggling to process what the defense is showing him and getting the ball out. He often holds onto the football too long, which is not a recipe for success when depending on a rookie to take care of Watt.

What do you expect from Watt in Week 1 against the Jets? Let us know in the comments below!

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