After they managed to come firing out of the gates with a 4-1 start to the 2025 regular season, the Pittsburgh Steelers now hold a measly 7-6 record ahead of their Week 15 matchup against the Miami Dolphins. Now, it appears as if they’ll once again be forced to compete without their star linebacker, T.J. Watt.
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On Wednesday, Watt sustained a collapsed lung during a dry needling session at the team’s practice facility. He’s since undergone a successful surgery and is currently resting at home, but he’s also been officially ruled out for this Monday’s outing. According to Pat McAfee, who had a private conversation with Watt’s brother and former NFL pass rusher, J.J., “This comes out of nowhere and is a very serious thing.”
The situation is bad enough on its own, but in referencing the fact that the Steelers are 1-11 in games without Watt, McAfee suggests that things will likely get a lot worse before they get any better in Pittsburgh.
“Things did not look great for the Pittsburgh Steelers to win a Lombardi, but without T.J. Watt, we can’t even get into that conversation,” McAfee said.
Heading into Week 15, Mike Tomlin and co. are just one game ahead of the Baltimore Ravens in the race for the AFC North championship, but they still have a rematch on deck for Week 18. Should the Ravens manage to win a few more games, then they may be able to take advantage of the Steelers’ shortcomings and end up with a guaranteed playoff spot after all.
There’s no guarantee that a Wild Card spot would be there either, as the AFC’s Wild Card pool currently includes teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and the Indianapolis Colts, and there’s a surging Cincinnati Bengals team that isn’t far behind either. Oh, and then there’s the Dolphins, who, with a win on Monday, could have the head-to-head tie breaker over the Steelers in what would be an incredibly close Wild Card race.
Suffice to say, there doesn’t seem to be much going in Pittsburgh’s favor these days, but they still control their own destinies, at least for now, anyway. According to Watt’s aforementioned brother, there is currently no timeline for his return, but he could be available to help with the team’s playoff push should it come down to that.
It isn’t a season-ending injury by any means, so Watt certainly figures to come back at some point before the end of the regular season. While that will likely depend on the number of wins that the Steelers are able to find without him, the bright side of the situation is that, if they are able to somehow buck the trend and do well without him, Watt can then take all of the time that he needs in order to come back 100% healthy for when things matter most.
