Steelers Daily News & Links: Your daily stop for all of the news and links from the Pittsburgh Steelers, NFL and around the Sports Now Group.
? J.J. Watt defended his brother T.J. on the Pat McAfee Show. He thinks it’s ridiculous that T.J. isn’t considered the best defensive player in the game.
“I mean, it’s — I’m so sick of the conversation. He’s the best defensive player in football. I’m so sick of the conversation,” Watt said. “He’s literally right now on pace to lead the league in sacks in three of the last four years; you know, the only year he didn’t is when he missed games with injury. He does it every single week. Teams double team him, teams triple team him, he gets held, he does all these different things like — I don’t know what more you want from an argument standpoint. I don’t know what more proof you want.
“Some people wanna say, ‘Don’t look at the statistics.’ I’m like, ‘Well, dumb***, that’s how you judge stuff in football.’ Like, guess what? Wins is a statistic, like, that’s how we judge champions. So are players. You judge teams by wins; you judge players by stats. That’s how this s*** works. Like, why do we keep track of anything? Oh, I don’t know, maybe because that’s how you decide who’s good and who’s not, so [the] guy’s got the most sacks. He’s the best. What do you want?”
"TJ Watt is the best defensive player in football and he does it every single week"@JJWatt #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/X0Ngv8uW1N
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 20, 2023
? Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk said on 93.7 The Fan that the Steelers are broken and the only way to fix things is to part ways with Mike Tomlin.
“The last three games have been a disaster. It’s not Steelers football. It’s not Tomlin football. It’s a symptom of a deeper disease that only gets eradicated if the two sides go their separate ways,” Florio said.
? NFL.com released its preview for the Steelers-Bengals game on Saturday. Six of the 10 analyst picked the Bengals to win.
? Steelers running back Jaylen Warren has 61 missed tackles forced on runs and receptions this season, which ranks third in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.
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? Former Steelers offensive lineman and current color analyst for the team Craig Wolfley said T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward looked miserable on the Steelers’ plane back from Indianapolis.
“I walked on the plane past Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt and I could see the miserableness in their face,” Wolfley said on the Irish Steelers podcast. “They know that game got away from them, but those are two of the most important guys that you can have to reload this stuff and pull people together. You gotta stick together. You gotta keep the voices to the outside of the four walls of the locker room.”
? Wednesday marked one year since Steelers legend and Hall of Famer Franco Harris passed away.
It is hard to believe a year has passed since Franco Harris’s death, just days before we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception. pic.twitter.com/Prkl3Whijg
— Heinz History Center (@HistoryCenter) December 20, 2023
? Happy Birthday to former Steelers offensive tackle Leon Searcy, born on December 21, 1969 in Washington D.C. Searcy was a first-round selection by the Steelers in the 1992 NFL Draft out of the University of Miami. Searcy was the first draft pick in the post-Chuck Noll era. Beginning in 1993, Searcy was installed at the right tackle position. He stayed in this position until he left the team for the Jacksonville Jaguars as a free agent in 1996.
? NFL Films presents former Steelers running back Jerome Bettis going back to school at Notre Dame.
NEWS FROM AROUND THE SPORTS NOW NETWORK
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Scoring depth at forward has finally emerged for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Pittsburgh Baseball Now: He’s back! The Pirates have re-signed Andrew McCutchen on a one-year deal for 2024.
Pittsburgh Sports Now: Pitt football landed a transfer portal commitment from a former Oregon State tight end.
West Virginia Sports Now: RaeQuan Battle is expected to finally make his WVU basketball debut.
Nittany Sports Now: Quinton Martin’s high school coach thinks Penn State is getting a good one.
Pittsburgh Soccer Now: Pitt soccer midfielder Filip Mirkovic was selected in the MLS SuperDraft.
