Steelers Get Bad News About TJ Watt With AFC North On The Line In Week 18 Versus Ravens

The Pittsburgh Steelers will officially be playing in a win-or-go-home game against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18 of the 2025 campaign. Head Coach Mike Tomlin's squad failed at defeating the Cleveland Browns in Week 17, which immediately gave the NFL a massive expected boost in ratings for the final slate of the regular season. The offense was the issue for Pittsburgh in Cleveland, but the defense will still be a critical part of finding a way to defeat the Ravens in the biggest matchup of the year. It's guaranteed to be a very nerve-racking contest.

It would be great if the Steelers could go into the matchup versus Baltimore fully healthy, but that is not going to be the case. Darnell Washington was said to have broken his arm, which will immediately hurt the offense. On top of that, while it may have been expected that dynamic edge rusher TJ Watt would return for the AFC North showdown, that reality may not exist.

ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio had a segment on Football Night In America and he reported on Watt's status for Week 18. It's safe to say that the 2021 AP Defensive Player of the Year isn't likely to be on the field in the Steel City when the division title is up for grabs.

"For the Steelers, the big question is the availability of linebacker TJ Watt. He had surgery just 16 days ago to repair a partially-collapsed lung," Florio said. "I'm told that, as of right now, it's a long-shot that he will be able to play. Never say never, but it's not an ideal timeline to be fully cleared. The Steelers aren't treating this like a normal injury because it isn't."

This is terrible news for Pittsburgh. The situation with Watt's lung has always been a weird one, and now if the team can't win in Week 18 without him, speculation will continue throughout the offseason regarding how he is viewing whatever it is that happened to him in mid-December. Overall, something still seems off about what occurred to the future Hall of Famer.

Pittsburgh had a pretty inconsistent outing against the Browns. Tomlin's defense showed out, but overall, the Steelers never should have lost to a team that is so much worse, especially at this stage in the season.

All will be forgiven if the team is able to sneak into the playoffs and host a postseason game in the Steel City, but Watt's absence will certainly change the expectation when it comes to Week 18 with the Ravens in town. While the edge-rushing depth for Pittsburgh is rather impressive, it's impossible to fully replace an individual that is one of the best at his craft. Now, Steelers fans will probably only see him again if the organization ends up celebrating an AFC North championship.

Steelers Are Hoping That Watt Will Be Able To Return For A Playoff Push

There is no surefire understanding of what happened to Watt behind closed doors at the franchise's facility. He ended up in the hospital after a dry needling treatment went wrong, which has now officially affected the team's attempt to win the AFC North. It doesn't appear as if he will be ready to go against the Ravens, and that's a big loss in what will be a massive rivalry showdown.

Do you think that the Steelers can beat the Ravens without Watt? Let us know in the comments belo!

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