As a defense down the stretch, the Pittsburgh Steelers couldn’t find ways to get consistent stops against the run and the pass, leading to some ugly losses as part of their five-game losing streak to close the season, which included a blowout loss in the playoffs, going one-and-done.
Within that ugly stretch to finish the year, star outside linebacker and future Hall of Famer T.J. Watt was uncharacteristically quiet, posting back-to-back games of zero stats, the first time he’s ever done that in his career. That had many questioning how the Steelers are using Watt from an alignment standpoint, and it had some wondering if the team should trade him this offseason to better situate themselves to find a franchise quarterback.