Linebacker T.J. Watt continued to show why he is one of the best players in the National Football League this year and his teammates couldn't agree more.
Watt was voted by his teammates as the 2024 Steelers Most Valuable Player, becoming the first player in team history to win the award five times (2019-21, 23-24).
And that's saying a lot with the list of Hall of Famers the Steelers have in their history.
Watt has been the glue that has held the defense together, starting all 16 games. He has 61 tackles, 40 of them solo stops. He has 11.5 sacks, 19 tackles for a loss, 27 quarterback hits, six forced fumbles, four passes defensed, three strip sacks, and two fumble recoveries. He is the only player in the NFL that ranks among the top six in the League in strip sacks (t-1st), forced fumbles (1st), quarterback hits (5th), fumble recoveries (t-6th), sacks (t-4th) and tackles for loss (2nd) in 2024.
"It's awesome," said Watt. "It's a great honor that I don't take lightly. It matters most that the guys that see what I do each and every day, and to have it come from them means a lot to me."
Watt recorded his 100th career sack against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5 of this season, on a night he accounted for one and a half sacks.
Watt became the second fastest player to reach 100 career sacks, doing it in 109 career games. Only Hall of Famer Reggie White did it faster, reaching the 100-sack mark in 96 games. Watt is also one of only three players to reach 100 career sacks before the age of 30. He is the Steelers all-time sack leader with 108 career sacks, third-most in NFL history by a player in their first eight seasons in the NFL.
"You have to put two guys on this man," said Hall of Fame Coach Bill Cowher. "You have to throw some screens early, some draws early just to slow him down and give him something to think about. He can wreak havoc in a game. He is that type of player.
"He is a defensive player of the year candidate. He is a guy that can change a game. He is a first ballot Hall of Fame player. Those are guys you have to game plan for."
Watt was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against the New York Giants in a Week 8 win.
Watt had seven tackles, two sacks, including a strip-sack that he recovered near the end of the game. And that couldn't have come at a better time as the Steelers had just turned the ball over and the Giants were driving.
"I'm not surprised by it, but it doesn't mean that it's not appreciated," said Coach Mike Tomlin of Watt's ability to continually make splash plays. "I just come to expect it because he's got a unique talent, a unique approach. Usually that produces unique results with a really consistent tone to it and usually at the most-timely moments. I think the new Steelers are shaking their heads. I think the guys that have been here kind of expect it."
Cowher ranked Watt as the Steelers fourth best all-time defensive player, ranked ahead of Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu (No. 5), and behind three other Hall of Famers in Mel Blount (No. 3), Rod Woodson (No. 2) and Joe Greene (No. 1).
It's great company to be in no doubt.
But it doesn't happen if Watt isn't relentless in every aspect of his game.
"No question he is relentless," said Tomlin. "He's not hungry. Hunger can be satisfied.
"He's driven. You feel it in everything that he does."
Watt is a player who has one switch when it comes to football.
And no doubt, it's the on switch.
"I turn the switch on and really just go," said Watt. "There's such a finite amount of time I'm able to play this game. I want to leave everything out on the field."
And he does just that. It starts during the week with his preparation and culminates on game day with his performance.
This year he talked about finding the 'golden nugget,' that one little thing that he gets from relentlessly watching film, whether it be 'on the clock' at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, on the sidelines when the offense is on the field, or at home during his free time.
He is maniacal about film study, and it pays off when he finds those golden nuggets. They aren't easy to find, but Watt loves the challenge of it.
"I think you get to a stage in your career where you're open to it," said Tomlin. "At the early stages of your career, you're so worried about what it is you need to do, your process, your readiness, your communication, whether it's the prep process or whether it's snap readiness.
"He's gotten to the point in his career where some of the things that he needs to do happen in a natural way, and it just opens up some of the other things to him. I think oftentimes guys try to find the nuggets too early in their career. You've got to work on you first. And he's done that. He's an example of that."
Watt admits it's not something that happens every game, and sometimes, even when he finds it on film, it doesn't translate on the field on game day. It's even tougher the more the game evolves with film breakdown because coaches are finding every way for tendencies to not show up on film.
"It's extremely difficult and that's why it's so rewarding when you get one and you're able to capitalize on it," said Watt. "There's a lot of factors involved. There has to be some sort of mechanism that moves first to fire the football. It's not like the hand is moving first all of the time. Sometimes it's the outside knee that goes on the center, but sometimes you get in the game, and you can't see it. On film all week, you could be thinking you have a nugget, and you can see it. Then in a game, you think about your actual perspective when you're looking down the line of scrimmage and it's not realistic. You can't see it in person.
"In the same respect, you have to self-scout because you don't want your opponent to say every time he is in a three-point stance, he's rushing. I have to mix it up. I have to understand that I'm also being scouted each and every day by other teams.
"It's pretty crazy. We're creatures of habit, even if you don't know you're doing something. If you watch enough film, you can kind of get a beat on what guys are trying to do, whether it's run, pass, whether it's a run a certain way and things like that."
Watt knows on a weekly basis offensive coordinators and head coaches are game planning to make sure he doesn't wreck the game.
It's something that might frustrate some players. For Watt, it's a challenge he welcomes.
"It's fun. It really is," said Watt. "Just because I'm trying to win, I'm trying to help create as many big plays as I can, but I'm also trying to not be outside of myself and try to do things that could put my team in a bad situation.
"It's a challenge each and every week. I'm just trying to find ways to win. I'm trying to find ways to deal with these chips and slides and double teams and things of that nature and it keeps me on my toes.
"I treat it like a chess match. I'm trying to think, I did this, they did that, how am I going to come out the next time if I do this type of thing. I'm always looking at the iPad on the sideline to gain an edge."
Watt has won almost every award possible in football. Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year. NFL sack leader three times. Associated Press First-Team All-Pro. The list goes on and on.
But he wants more. There is one thing he hasn't won yet.
A playoff game. And that drives him like nothing else ever has.
"He's had about every individual award that you can get in this game," said Tomlin. "He has that perspective and it's a great one. He realizes his legacy is going to be based on what it is we do in January and February."
And Watt is laser focused on finding a way to get that elusive win. And then some. He doesn't want to stop until the Steelers hoist a Lombardi Trophy again.
"Not to say I haven't thought about it before, but at this point of my career, the individual awards aren't anything," said Watt. "It's all about winning, all about team, trying to pick guys up if they're down. I'm trying to celebrate with guys more and trying to enjoy everything.
"It's been tough not getting there. It's been very difficult, especially when you are part of such a historic organization like this where they're constantly bringing back Super Bowl champions. When I'm done, I want to come back. And I want them to say, T.J. Watt, Super Bowl champion. That's all that's important to me.
"There's definitely a different aura when someone says Super Bowl champion so-and-so.
"It's more about what are you truly leaving as a legacy for the City of Pittsburgh. It's not just about me. It's about this team and how many special guys that we have this year."
Steelers MVPs since 1969
1969 - Roy Jefferson, WR
1970 - Joe Greene, DT
1971 - Andy Russell, LB
1972 - Franco Harris, RB
1973 - Ron Shanklin, WR
1974 - Glen Edwards, S
1975 - Mel Blount, CB
1976 - Jack Lambert, LB
1977 - Terry Bradshaw, QB
1978 - Terry Bradshaw, QB
1979 - John Stallworth, WR
1980 - Donnie Shell, SS
1981 - Jack Lambert, LB
1982 - Dwayne Woodruff, CB
1983 - Gary Anderson, K
1984 - John Stallworth, WR
1985 - Louis Lipps, WR
1986 - Bryan Hinkle, LB
1987 - Mike Merriweather, LB
1988 - David Little, LB & Rod Woodson, CB
1989 - Louis Lipps, WR
1990 - Rod Woodson, CB
1991 - Greg Lloyd, LB
1992 - Barry Foster, RB
1993 - Rod Woodson, CB
1994 - Greg Lloyd, LB
1995 - Neil O'Donnell, QB
1996 - Jerome Bettis, RB
1997 - Jerome Bettis, RB
1998 - Levon Kirkland, LB
1999 - Levon Kirkland, LB
2000 - Jerome Bettis, RB
2001 - Kordell Stewart, QB
2002 - Joey Porter, LB & Hines Ward, WR
2003 - Hines Ward, WR
2004 - James Farrior, LB
2005 - Casey Hampton, NT & Hines Ward, WR
2006 - Willie Parker, RB
2007 - James Harrison, LB
2008 - James Harrison, LB
2009 - Ben Roethlisberger, QB
2010 - Troy Polamalu, S
2011 - Antonio Brown, WR
2012 - Heath Miller, TE
2013 - Antonio Brown, WR
2014 - Le'Veon Bell, RB
2015 - Antonio Brown, WR
2016 - Le'Veon Bell, RB
2017 - Antonio Brown, WR
2018 - JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR
2019 - T.J. Watt, LB
2020 - T.J. Watt, LB
2021 - T.J. Watt, LB
2022 - Minkah Fitzpatrick, S
2023 - T.J. Watt, LB
2024 - T.J. Watt, LB
