Steelers Get A Major Warning From TJ Watt About Drake Maye

The Pittsburgh Steelers left Week 1 with the kind of defensive performance that can make a pass rush feel solved. Four sacks, two interceptions and a game-changing touchdown supplied plenty of evidence that Patrick Graham's front can dictate an afternoon. Sunday in Foxborough presents a less comfortable test. The challenge is not merely reaching the quarterback. Pittsburgh has to decide how aggressively it can chase him without turning a nearly won rep into open grass.

TJ Watt identified Drake Maye's ability to escape the pocket as one of Pittsburgh's biggest concerns against the New England Patriots. Maye is dangerous because leaving the pocket does not automatically turn him into a runner. He continues looking downfield first, forcing defenders to balance finishing the rush with maintaining coverage and contain.

During his Friday media availability, Watt explained why Maye can stretch a defensive play beyond its original design.

“He can get out of the pocket and extend plays. He’s extending, looking to throw first obviously, but he can do some things with his legs. He’s getting better at sliding and getting down. But there’s always chances to get the football anytime we’re on the quarterback,” Watt said.

The last sentence is where Pittsburgh's assignment gets interesting. Watt is not advocating for a cautious afternoon. He sees the quarterback as another opportunity to attack the football. The Steelers spent the offseason emphasizing takeaways, and Watt opened the season by turning an interception into a 35-yard touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons. He also recorded two sacks and three tackles for loss on his way to AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Maye creates a different kind of stress. He completed 23 of 33 passes for 178 yards in New England's 13-10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, but he also added 47 rushing yards on seven scrambles. Some of those plays began with the defense doing exactly what it wanted: collapsing the original pocket. Maye's ability to slip through the first wave can turn pressure into a defensive scramble.

That is why pass-rush lanes matter as much as raw speed Sunday. Watt and Alex Highsmith cannot simply race around the edges while the interior charges forward without relationship to one another. If two rushers attack the same escape path, the space they leave behind can become Maye's quickest route to a first down.

Highsmith made the same point during the week, calling Maye dangerous with both his arm and his scrambling ability while emphasizing discipline up front. Pittsburgh has now acknowledged the issue from multiple corners of its defense. The goal is to squeeze the pocket rather than tear holes in it while trying to arrive first.

The Steelers have recent evidence of how strange the matchup can become. In last season's 21-14 win at New England, Pittsburgh sacked Maye five times and forced five Patriots turnovers. Maye still led New England with 45 rushing yards. The pass rush repeatedly won, yet his legs remained one of the Patriots' better answers whenever the pocket stopped behaving.

That history makes Watt's comment about attacking the football especially relevant. Pittsburgh does not have to treat every Maye scramble like a lost sack. A quarterback leaving structure exposes himself to different risks. The ball can drift away from his frame while he searches for a receiver, and defenders arriving from pursuit angles can create strip opportunities that rarely exist against a passer standing calmly on his spot.

There is a limit to that aggression. Maye has improved at sliding, as Watt noted, and defenders chasing a turnover cannot afford a quarterback penalty that extends a drive. The Steelers need violent intentions with disciplined timing, which sounds contradictory until one remembers that elite pass rushing is largely a job built on arriving at exactly the right place under control.

Pittsburgh's coverage also becomes part of the rush once Maye escapes. Cameron Heyward already warned about Maye as both a passer and runner. A corner can win the original route and still lose the play if the quarterback buys enough time to create a second one.

Steelers Need Their Pass Rush To Win Without Losing Contain

There is an obvious temptation after Watt's Week 1 performance. Pittsburgh watched its best defender take over a game and could reasonably want to send him hunting again. Maye makes blind pursuit dangerous because the quickest path to the quarterback is not always the best path for the defense.

Graham can help by changing where pressure comes from and forcing New England to sort through different pictures. Pittsburgh's front does not need every defender to collect a sack. It needs the pocket to compress in a way that limits Maye's exits and makes his second reaction less comfortable than his first.

The reward could be significant if the Steelers strike that balance. Maye threw three interceptions on New England's final three possessions against Seattle after admitting he lost patience. Pressure that keeps him trapped inside the structure can test that patience again. Pressure that loses its lanes might provide the exact escape valve he wants.

Watt's challenge is therefore more complicated than beating a tackle Sunday. He has to threaten Maye without giving him somewhere convenient to go, then switch from pass rusher to ball hunter the moment the quarterback tries to manufacture something outside the pocket.

Pittsburgh already knows it can get to Maye. It did it five times last season. The bigger question is whether the Steelers can make sure that when he escapes the first problem, he runs directly into the next one.

#SteelerNation