Steelers Still Missing Out On TJ Watt's Breakout Game In 2025: "He Could Be Better"

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Los Angeles Chargers by a score of 25-10 on Sunday Night Football in a game where the Steelers looked like none of them were aboard the flight that took the team to Los Angeles. The Chargers were able to do whatever they wanted on the Steelers' defense as the contest progressed, and the Steelers' offense couldn't establish a rhythm in either the passing or running game. Chargers running back Kimani Vidal had a very solid night, running for 95 yards on 25 carries and scoring a touchdown, helping boost the Chargers' ground game.

The defensive failure might have been a collective one, but the lack of production from the stars on the Steelers' defense against the Chargers has prompted some to question how productive key players have been throughout the course of the season. One of those players that is receiving these questions is Steelers superstar linebacker TJ Watt. He finished Week 10 against the Chargers with one sack, two solo tackles, one tackle for loss, and three QB hits.

On 93.7 The Fan earlier on Wednesday, insider Mark Kaboly joined the show to discuss a wide variety of news regarding the Steelers, and he was asked about how he felt Watt had performed to this point in the season. Kaboly's response to the question revealed that he has hope for Watt to improve, but it hasn't been great so far.

"I think he's getting better as the season goes on," Kaboly said. "Those chips are not easy to deal with. Sometimes those are actually harder than double teams because sometimes, you're not expecting them and it slows you down just a little bit. It's gonna be hard to get to [Joe] Flacco this week because I would anticipate them doing the same stuff last time they played them, getting rid of the ball in 2.3 seconds. I think he could be better, I think he's gotten better, but he needs one of those monster, monster games, and I don't think we've seen that from him yet."

Kaboly's remark about chip blocks is undeniably true in Watt's case. Opposing offenses have game planned around stopping Watt's impact at all costs, leading him to receive double teams from offensive linemen and other blockers, and sometimes triple teams in critical situations. Kaboly's remark about Watt not having a monster game yet this season is also true. Watt's best performance during the season has arguably come against the Green Bay Packers when he recorded six combined tackles, two solo tackles, and a quarterback hit. This is including the game against the New England Patriots where he recorded two sacks along with the game against the Minnesota Vikings where he recorded an interception that he returned for 13 yards. 

Watt hasn't had a game where he has taken over the tempo entirely up to this point in the season, but some believe that he'll take over a game by himself very soon. Recently, Watt had made comments himself talking about how the Steelers' defense has been very inconsistent, which has been a big reason as to why the unit has been unable to put together strong performances against all types of opposing offenses. This inconsistency also extends to a larger issue the team faces throughout the rest of the season.

Steelers Can't Keep Living And Dying By Turnovers

The Steelers' best performances as a unit have come when the team has forced multiple turnovers. However, when they're unable to force many turnovers, the defense appears unable to stop the opposing team's offense. This issue is something the Steelers' defense needs to resolve as a unit, but an incredible single game performance by Watt would go a long way to establishing some consistency to where the team won't feel forced to have multiple turnovers in a single game.

What did you think about Kaboly's comments regarding Watt's performance so far? Let us know in the comments or on X at @SteelersSwamp7.

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