Steelers' TJ Watt Takes Direct Shot From Joe Flacco For "Dirty Hit"

The Pittsburgh Steelers have always been known for their defense. It is one of the major identities when thinking about the franchise and the entire history of the organization. The defensive side of the ball has always been physical and hard-nosed, which is something the NFL has kind of moved on from with a bunch of rule changes that now limit defenders in the league. Defenders are especially limited when it comes to rushing the quarterback, as that is the most protected position in the sport. Defenders are forced to hit quarterbacks only in certain areas, and they have to be sure not to land too hard on the passer.

TJ Watt is a player that has to be very careful when rushing the quarterback. He has not been called for too many roughing the passer penalties throughout his career, but he was called for one against the Cincinnati Bengals during the 2025 season. Quarterback Joe Flacco was rolling out of the pocket to the left, and he was looking to throw the ball away. Watt wound up hitting him as he threw the football and then drove Flacco into the ground a little bit, and he was flagged. It was considered a bad call at the time, but that has been the usual with roughing the passer penalties.

Flacco was mic'd up and followed throughout most games during the 2025 season, as he agreed to be a part of Netflix's documentary series Quarterback for the 2025 season. This show recaps some games and has exclusive interviews with the quarterbacks, and Flacco spoke about this hit from Watt.

"I felt like he knew what he was doing," Flacco explained. "Like, 'Ah, I got a chance to hit him here, I'm going to make sure I take full advantage.' It didn't feel good. It wasn't comfortable. But, that's football, that's the Steelers defense. That was just one of those things that comes from that."

Flacco seemed to be saying this was a bit of a dirty hit, but he is used to taking some hard blows when squaring off against the Steelers. He did it for a long time as the quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens, and he led those Ravens teams throughout the height of that AFC North rivalry.

Flacco signed back with the Bengals during the 2026 offseason, and he will be backing up Joe Burrow for another season. Burrow hasn't necessarily been durable throughout his career, so there is a chance that Watt will have another opportunity to lay a good hit on the veteran quarterback. 

This isn't the first time that Watt has been called dirty or something of the sort, and it probably won't be the last. He is a physical player that prioritizes taking the ball away from the offense. He is often seen punching at the ball and aggressively throwing players down to the field, but that is just the way he prefers to play the game.

Steelers' TJ Watt Is Looking To Have A Resurgent Season In 2026

Watt had a down stretch of games to finish the 2024 season, and then he didn't produce the way fans are used to in 2025. Both of those instances had something to do with injuries, but it would still be nice to see him return to his old form. That might be unreasonable to ask at this point of his career as he is on the wrong side of 30, but he should be able to record more than the seven sacks that he had in 2025. 

He produced in other areas as well, but fans want to see him back in double digits while taking the ball away from opposing offenses.

What do you think about these comments from Flacco? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!

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