{"id":96005,"date":"2025-09-20T16:18:47","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T16:18:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005"},"modified":"2025-09-20T16:18:47","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T16:18:47","slug":"t-j-watt-fires-back-at-steelers-run-defense-struggles-we-cant-just-rely-on-one-guy-to-carry-the-load","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005","title":{"rendered":"T.J. Watt FIRES BACK at Steelers\u2019 Run Defense Struggles: &#8220;WE CAN\u2019T JUST RELY ON ONE GUY TO CARRY THE LOAD!&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"has-video wp-caption\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy-img\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2234148879-e1758296747302.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"\" width=\"360\" height=\"240\" \/><\/figure>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"featured-widget-area\">\n<div id=\"heavy_multi_stn_video_player_widget-10\" class=\"stn-player-cls stn-player-container\">\n<div data-stn-player=\"g2m7hup2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">Two weeks into the 2025-26 campaign, the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0are still sorting out who they are as a team. That lack of identity is surprising to some, especially considering their reliable defense has been anything but that so far.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">As Week 3\u2019s contest against the\u00a0New England Patriots\u00a0approaches, one prominent analyst dropped a graphic that adds even more drama to the equation.\u00a0In a September 17 tweet, ESPN\u2019s Dan Orlovsky tied the struggles to all-world linebacker\u00a0T.J. Watt.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">Not in a bad way for Watt, though. He\u2019s holding up his end of the bargain.<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_1_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-1 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18190176,25816858\/AdThrive_Content_1\/5ad7479721520f50ab7da88e_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"43a7145ac8bc67a6267d657eaca0321c\" class=\"embed_container\">\n<div class=\"lazy-embed lazy-embed--ssr embed-twitter-com lazy-embed--loaded\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/danorlovsky7\/status\/1968284043113562402\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Steelers\u2019 Run Defense Issues Related to T.J. Watt?<\/h2>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">Orlovsky\u2019s post reveals that on 13 rush attempts to Watt\u2019s side of the field, Steelers opponents have averaged a measly 2.5 yards per carry. On 34 rushes away from Watt \u2014 a much larger sample size \u2014 that number rises to an even 6.0. Considering 96% of Watt\u2019s 103 snaps are lined up left of the opposing center, that\u2019s a problematic data set.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">Watt has always been a stellar run-stuffer for his position. Through two weeks, his 90.5\u00a0Pro Football Focus\u00a0run defense grade leads all designated edge players. He\u2019s gone over the 90.0 mark two other times in his illustrious career, including last season. He\u2019s the heart and soul of the defense, as evidenced by the\u00a0lucrative contract extension\u00a0he got this offseason.<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_2_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-2 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18190176,25816858\/AdThrive_Content_2\/5ad7479721520f50ab7da88e_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"google-ad-manager-fallback-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">Like many superstars, Watt isn\u2019t going to sway from his pre-snap alignment often. Last year, he was almost exclusively on that left side. The same rang true in 2023 and for several years prior. For better or worse, he\u2019s holding down the end of the defensive front and playing disciplined, high-quality run defense.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">It\u2019s the rest of Pittsburgh that needs to step up.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin Not Worried<\/h2>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">Entering Week 3, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin\u2019s unit ranks dead last in opposing rushing attempts, meaning they\u2019ve faced the most. On those tries, the Steelers have surrendered the fifth-most yards. Week 1 saw\u00a0New York Jets\u00a0running back\u00a0Breece Hall\u00a0rack up 107 yards on 19 tries, then Week 2 featured\u00a0Seattle Seahawks\u00a0standout\u00a0Kenneth Walker III\u00a0amass 105 yards on just 13 carries.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">Speaking to the media this week, Austin didn\u2019t buy into the Watt-related correlation. He does, however,\u00a0believe the run defense has to be better.<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_3_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-3 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18190176,25816858\/AdThrive_Content_3\/5ad7479721520f50ab7da88e_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"google-ad-manager-fallback-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">\u201cNo, I don\u2019t have a reaction to it,\u201d Austin said. \u201cI think that\u2019s sometimes some choice things. People run that way. They\u2019ll run away from T.J. When you have stretch teams and teams that do that stuff, a lot of zone, you take a risk when you run at 90 because sometimes he\u2019ll play it straight, sometimes he\u2019ll come inside, and he\u2019s able to give you some tackle for loss stuff that\u2019s a little bit unpredictable.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">\u201cI think when you run the other way, they\u2019re looking more not so much to run at head, but to cut back, to see if there\u2019s a lane on the back side. We\u2019ve just got to shore up our things. I don\u2019t look at it as one side or the other. As I look at it, we\u2019ve got to shore up our run defense period. It goes back to what I said earlier, we\u2019ve just got to quit beating ourselves before the ball is ever snapped.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_4_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-4 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18190176,25816858\/AdThrive_Content_4\/5ad7479721520f50ab7da88e_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"google-ad-manager-fallback-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">With Sunday\u2019s game on the horizon, Pittsburgh ranks 24th in EPA\/rush allowed on defense\u00a0per SumerSports. Luckily for them, the Patriots aren\u2019t much better on offense (19th).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty Two weeks into the 2025-26 campaign, the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0are still sorting out who they are as a team. That lack of identity is surprising to some, especially&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":95998,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>T.J. Watt FIRES BACK at Steelers\u2019 Run Defense Struggles: &quot;WE CAN\u2019T JUST RELY ON ONE GUY TO CARRY THE LOAD!&quot; - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"T.J. Watt FIRES BACK at Steelers\u2019 Run Defense Struggles: &quot;WE CAN\u2019T JUST RELY ON ONE GUY TO CARRY THE LOAD!&quot; - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getty Two weeks into the 2025-26 campaign, the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0are still sorting out who they are as a team. That lack of identity is surprising to some, especially...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-20T16:18:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/550990248_122154738764792721_509.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"508\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"565\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"XuanTan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"XuanTan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005\",\"name\":\"T.J. Watt FIRES BACK at Steelers\u2019 Run Defense Struggles: \\\"WE CAN\u2019T JUST RELY ON ONE GUY TO CARRY THE LOAD!\\\" - NEWS USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/550990248_122154738764792721_509.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-20T16:18:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-20T16:18:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ac862d5ceb335ec8f1e374ed4bdb0c06\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/550990248_122154738764792721_509.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/550990248_122154738764792721_509.jpg\",\"width\":508,\"height\":565},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"T.J. Watt FIRES BACK at Steelers\u2019 Run Defense Struggles: &#8220;WE CAN\u2019T JUST RELY ON ONE GUY TO CARRY THE LOAD!&#8221;\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"NEWS USA\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ac862d5ceb335ec8f1e374ed4bdb0c06\",\"name\":\"XuanTan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f0d0d8858cf9c64fc1f3105c62cff269864cf9a26f88149688bdf4dc953df45?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f0d0d8858cf9c64fc1f3105c62cff269864cf9a26f88149688bdf4dc953df45?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"XuanTan\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"T.J. Watt FIRES BACK at Steelers\u2019 Run Defense Struggles: \"WE CAN\u2019T JUST RELY ON ONE GUY TO CARRY THE LOAD!\" - NEWS USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"T.J. Watt FIRES BACK at Steelers\u2019 Run Defense Struggles: \"WE CAN\u2019T JUST RELY ON ONE GUY TO CARRY THE LOAD!\" - NEWS USA","og_description":"Getty Two weeks into the 2025-26 campaign, the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0are still sorting out who they are as a team. That lack of identity is surprising to some, especially...","og_url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005","og_site_name":"NEWS USA","article_published_time":"2025-09-20T16:18:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":508,"height":565,"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/550990248_122154738764792721_509.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"XuanTan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"XuanTan","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005","name":"T.J. Watt FIRES BACK at Steelers\u2019 Run Defense Struggles: \"WE CAN\u2019T JUST RELY ON ONE GUY TO CARRY THE LOAD!\" - NEWS USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/550990248_122154738764792721_509.jpg","datePublished":"2025-09-20T16:18:47+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-20T16:18:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ac862d5ceb335ec8f1e374ed4bdb0c06"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/550990248_122154738764792721_509.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/550990248_122154738764792721_509.jpg","width":508,"height":565},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=96005#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"T.J. Watt FIRES BACK at Steelers\u2019 Run Defense Struggles: &#8220;WE CAN\u2019T JUST RELY ON ONE GUY TO CARRY THE LOAD!&#8221;"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/","name":"NEWS USA","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ac862d5ceb335ec8f1e374ed4bdb0c06","name":"XuanTan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f0d0d8858cf9c64fc1f3105c62cff269864cf9a26f88149688bdf4dc953df45?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f0d0d8858cf9c64fc1f3105c62cff269864cf9a26f88149688bdf4dc953df45?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"XuanTan"},"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=96005"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96006,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96005\/revisions\/96006"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/95998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=96005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=96005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=96005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}