T.J. Watt Had Brutally Honest Admission About Steelers’ Recent Playoff Struggles

Watt has yet to win a playoff game in his NFL career.

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt warms up for a game. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

T.J. Watt just signed a record-breaking three-year extension worth $123 million with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he's been his entire NFL career thus far.

While Watt's accomplished many incredible things since he joined the team in 2017, including winning NFL Defensive Player of the Year in '21, there's one achievement he has yet to cross off his list: winning a playoff game. The Steelers have been to five postseasons since Watt joined, but they haven't won a playoff game since Jan. 2017, just months before the star edge rusher joined the squad.

With his future on the Steelers solidified, this is a narrative Watt hopes to squash sooner rather than later. He said recently in an interview on In Depth with Graham Bensinger that it's "unacceptable" the team hasn't won a playoff game with him.

"Winning a Super Bowl is no doubt motivating me and winning a playoff game is absolutely motivating me," Watt said. "It’s something that we haven’t been able to do since I’ve been there. I think that’s absolutely unacceptable and that is what’s attached to my name right now, and I have to answer for that. As much as it sucks, when you say, ‘T.J. Watt: X, Y, Z,’ you also say, ‘T.J. Watt: Not won a playoff game.’”

Maybe the 2025 season will finally be the year when the Steelers break their playoff curse. It's going to be quite a different team as the Steelers have made lots of moves this offseason, including signing Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf to the roster, for starters.

Making the postseason is one thing, but advancing past the first round is another. Watt's ready to do it.

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