TJ Watt gives up on extremely frustrated reaction to playoff debacle
The Pittsburgh Steelers‘ postseason nightmare continued Monday night, and no one embodied the frustration more than TJ Watt. The 30-6 loss extended Pittsburgh’s playoff drought to nine straight seasons without a postseason win, a stretch eerily matched by Watt’s NFL career.
Since being drafted in 2017, the Steelers are now 0-6 in playoff games, including five losses in the games Watt played. After a Wild Card loss to the Houston Texans, the All-Pro passed he tried to hide his exhaustion with a familiar ending.
“I mean, this is still fresh, man. It’s very frustrating. Extremely frustrating,” Watt said during his postgame press conference, his tone reflecting the weight of yet another playoff disappointment.
Monday’s defeat followed a familiar scenario. Pittsburgh kept the game close early, even leading for a bit, before it all unraveled. Texans’ Sheldon Rankins returned the fumble for a touchdown momentum in full, opening the floodgates in what became a one-sided final score.
When asked if he has answers to how The Steelers could turn their postseason fortunes aroundWatt offered a blunt response that underscored his weariness. “I didn’t have an answer for a long time… So don’t ask me,” Watt said.
Despite the outcome, Watt’s individual effort was not lacking. He finished with six tackles, including three solo stops, along with a quarterback hit and a fumble recovery. The show followed just a few weeks after him returned from a partially collapsed lung sustained during dry needling on the team, Watt dismissed the failure.
“Man, I don’t care about the adversity I’ve been through,” Watt added. “I’m sitting here again, same story.”
Houston, meanwhile, relied on its elite defense to dominate the evening. The Texans applied relentless pressure, harassed veteran Aaron Rodgers throughout the game and scored twice on defense en route to their first playoff victory in franchise history. The win also marked Houston’s 10th straight win overall.
For Pittsburgh, the loss added another painful chapter to its history. That marked it The Steelers’ seventh straight playoff loss under head coach Mike Tomlintying the longest losing streak by a coach in NFL history.
As the Steelers head into another crucial offseason, Watt’s raw honesty captured the mood of a franchise at a crossroads. The talent remains. Expectations remain. however, until the January results change, frustration and the questions will only get louder.
2026-01-13 09:41:00
