The Pittsburgh Steelers are once again having a strong regular season.
It seems like every year they are in the running for one of the AFC Wild Card spots.
Last week, the Steelers showed significant improvements on offense which were needed.
But, this has been and will continue to be a team led by their defense.
The best defensive player on the Steelers is edge rusher T.J. Watt.
He won the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year award and continues to be a dominant force.
According to Brooke Pryor, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin called Watt “the best defensive player on the planet right now.”
Tomlin: “TJ is the best defensive player on the planet right now.”
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) November 28, 2023
Ever since the Steelers drafted Watt in 2017 he has helped transform their defense.
There are a handful of defensive players who are consistently in the DPOY race.
Watt is one of them.
Through 12 weeks, the odds tell us that Myles Garrett is leading the DPOY race.
He is followed by Micah Parsons, Watt, DaRon Bland, and Maxx Crosby.
The Steelers and Tomlin know what Watt means to their success.
Each week they rely on their defense to keep them in games.
The Steelers defense must feel like they have to keep their opponent under 20 points to give themselves a chance to win.
Watt has recorded 13.5 sacks this season and he is coming off a two-sack game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
It will be interesting to see how the DPOY race plays out over the remainder of the season.
But, there is no question that Watt will remain in the discussion until the very end.
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