Despite Circumstances Watt And Garrett Make Steelers/Browns Must See TV
Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports
The NFL has been an offensive-driven league for quite some time now. And neither the Steelers nor Browns are going to be winning any beauty pageants offensively any time soon. The NFL is never going to hype up a Steelers/Browns matchup the way they would a Chargers/Chiefs contest that features Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes.
But they should.
What’s happening in both cities, on their defensive lines, is professional football at it’s best.
The AFC North combatants both struck gold in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft by selecting edge rushers T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett. respectively. Both pass rushing maestros have been named an All-Pro four times, with Watt one-upping his divisional foe by securing the 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. However, with the way the 2023 season is unfolding as we pass the midway mark, Garrett could very well end up with the DPOY crown come February.
This year has somehow brought an elevated level from both superstars. Each week Watt and Garrett seem to singlehandedly ruin football games. Their first meeting this year was not pretty for fantasy footballers, but for lovers of defense, especially in the Steel City, it was a thing of beauty. A physical back and forth was finally tilted in Pittsburgh’s favor in the fourth quarter on Monday Night Football.
ANOTHER HIGHSMITH AND WATT COMBO. TOUCHDOWN STEELERS.
📺: #CLEvsPIT on ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/zWM8hlwLFw pic.twitter.com/3T15PdcCSI— NFL (@NFL) September 19, 2023
Since then Garrett has done everything in his power to build his resume before the rematch and he’s currently tied with Minnesota Vikings edge rusher Danielle Hunter for the league-lead with 11 sacks this season.
smothered him 😬#CLEvsBAL on FOX & NFL+ pic.twitter.com/t0EsgctOJ6
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) November 12, 2023
Watt isn’t too far behind, currently third in the NFL with 10.5 sacks. And as we’ve seen throughout Watt’s career, he’s no stranger to wrecking games when he’s tasked with dropping into coverage.
TJ Watt INT!
📺: #PITvsLAR on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/iTs8HMaXlh pic.twitter.com/3MYOvdoM6R— NFL (@NFL) October 22, 2023
With both teams meeting at 6-3 and jockeying for position in, not only a tightly contested AFC North but an AFC wildcard picture, theres a good chance Sunday is going to be determined by which supernova pass rusher can wreck the game more.
That’s not to say that both Garrett and Watt don’t have stars in ancillary roles on their defensive fronts. Pittsburgh’s Alex Highsmith ranks 12th out of all NFL edge rushers with 42 pressures on the year. and at some point this team is going to have a full strength Cam Heyward back. And Cleveland’s Za’Darius Smith is registering a blistering 15.9% pressure rate after nine games. For context, Garrett — who leads the NFL in pass rush win-rate at 25.7% — currently has a 17.2% pressure rate.
Both Garrett and Watt are fully entrenched in their prime as NFL superstars. These two squaring off against one another in a massively important divisional contest doesn’t appear to be generating the excitement that a pass rushing matchup of this magnitude properly deserves. Truth is, it’s more than fair to expect both Garrett and Watt to make multiple significantly game-altering plays on Sunday.
So who gets the edge(figuratively and literally) on Sunday?
Deshaun Watson’s injury would seem to tip things in Watt’s favor. A Tomlin led D given the opportunity to scheme against what is sounding like a rookie getting his second start ever has the potential makings of a career day. But you can’t count out Garrett just because the vibe is suffering in Cleveland. This is a guy who could beat you even if an elderly man was his starting quarterback.
Broderick Jones has been superb since entering the Steelers line up. Like “why the hell did they wait so long” superb. If Jones can slow Garrett early and help the Steelers stay either in the lead or even, TJ and the boys can do their thing. The disaster scenario for Pittsburgh would be having to play from behind. With this passing offense and Garrett and company knowing you need to throw, it’s hard to imagine a positive outcome.
Since the NFL still likes to coincide their MVP and Offensive/Defensive Player of the Year awards with victories, the player that helps their team get the victory on Sunday will probably have the leg-up on the other in the 2023 DPOY race. Fortunately for Steelers fans I think Watt is going to come up huge in this one and not only reintroduce himself to the DPOY award, but also cement the Steelers into the playoff picture.
Regardless of the outcome or the Steelers lackluster offense or the Watson injury, make no mistake about it, this Sunday deserves to be considered must watch NFl TV right up there with the best of QB duels.
Up Next