For the first time this season, the Pittsburgh Steelers will be without T.J. Watt, who suffered a serious knee injury in the team’s Week 18 victory over the Baltimore Ravens.It could not have arrived at a worse moment. The Steelers will face the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs on Sunday, but Pittsburgh isn’t worried. Coach Mike Tomlin is confident in the depth following Watt.
To be honest, I haven’t given much thought to not having T.J. (Watt) around. But we have depth at that position. That is why we sought out and carefully acquired Markus Golden. That’s why we drafted Nick Herbig. We are as deep in that situation as we have been in some time. We’re satisfied with the level of depth. (Kyron) Johnson has been wearing a helmet for the past few weeks, albeit his contributions have mostly been on special teams.
There is another individual in the position who knows what to do and is available to us. So we have an appropriate amount of people. We have players who are capable. We have some guys who have been here. We have guys who know what they’re doing. So, we’re going to use it all.
With Watt out, Nick Herbig and Markus Golden are likely to receive more playing time. Neither has started a game this season, but they have combined for seven sacks despite their minimal playing time.
The key to beating the Bills is to put as much pressure on Josh Allen as possible, and if the Steelers’ outside linebackers do not contribute, their season may be over. Coach Tomlin, on the other hand, believes in his defense and is certain that it will do its best with what it has.
The Steelers and Bills will tip off at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday at Highmark Stadium.
