TJ Watt may have traveled with the team to Cleveland, but head coach Mike Tomlin has already shut the door on any hope of a surprise return against the Browns. The head coach has laid down a strict, non-negotiable condition for his return that puts his status for Sunday’s game in serious jeopardy.

“TJ Watt did make the trip the Cleveland,” CBS Sports sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson reported in her X post. “Mike Tomlin said there was never a chance he would play this week. And that he will not play until he has a week of practice as a full participant, They are treating it different than an injury situation. #steelers”

It seems like Tomlin has made it clear the Steelers are handling Watt’s recovery fundamentally differently than they would a traditional injury.

Watt’s season hit an unexpected roadblock in early December, when a routine treatment led to a partially collapsed lung and forced the Steelers star into surgery. The freak setback sidelined Pittsburgh’s defensive heartbeat during a critical stretch, ruling him out across Weeks 16 and 17. As the playoffs loom, Watt’s absence has quietly reshaped the Steelers’ defensive ceiling at the worst possible time.

While the sack leader of the unit has been gone, Pittsburgh won both games without Watt, beating Miami in Week 15 and Detroit in Week 16. Unfortunately, this run came to an end against the Browns in Week 17, where the Steelers couldn’t seal their playoff fate in a loss to the Browns.

While Watt was away, Alex Highsmith anchored the edge rush, logging heavy snaps opposite Cameron Heyward while maintaining pressure on quarterbacks. Rookie Jack Sawyer made his first NFL start versus Detroit with career-high snap counts, rotating alongside Jeremiah Moon after 28 defensive reps against Miami the prior week. Patrick Queen and three others played every defensive snap in Week 16.

With Watt still unavailable and the division hanging in the balance, Tomlin’s focus shifted from survival to containment. The Browns’ defense, led by a history-chasing Myles Garrett, represented the exact kind of threat Pittsburgh could not afford to ignore.

Mike Tomlin’s game plan against Myles Garrett works without a win

With the AFC North hanging in the balance, the Steelers’ head coach was blunt about the Browns’ biggest weapon. Myles Garrett was not just another pass rusher to prepare for. He was a potential season-wrecker standing one sack away from NFL history, and Tomlin was not pretending otherwise. He knew that a win for the Steelers could mean playoff contention.

Garrett entered the game one sack short of the single-season NFL record, a fact Tomlin openly acknowledged while calling Cleveland the best defensive unit in the AFC North. The Steelers understood that letting the game drift into obvious passing downs would invite disaster. Third-and-long situations were where Garrett turned games, seasons, and records on their head.

“There certainly is [a checklist], and first and foremost, it’s to minimize one-dimensional passing circumstances,” Tomlin said ahead of the game. “If you’re in a bunch of third-and-10s, you’ve got a problem. Guys like Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt, Maxx Crosby, their highlight reels are third-and-10-plus moments. We’ve got to be real solid schematically and allocate an appropriate number of people.”

Top Stories

Cowboys Fire Defensive Coordinator Matt Eberflus: Contract, Salary, NFL Earnings & More

Russell Wilson Announces Retirement Stance as Giants QB Shares Hidden Injury News

Dolphins Reportedly Indecisive About Mike McDaniel as GM Search Kicks Off

Joe Flacco Makes Retirement Decision Clear as Bengals QB’s Final Gesture for Ja’Marr Chase Draws Attention

Pete Carroll Makes Final Decision on Retirement as Tom Brady Set to Fire Raiders HC

To neutralize the game-wrecking player, Tomlin’s plan definitely toned down Garrett. He recorded just one tackle and zero sacks, but Cleveland’s defense dominated the game. Aaron Rodgers completed just 21 of 39 passes for 168 yards with no touchdowns. The veteran was sacked twice through the night. This was considerably worse than their earlier encounter, when he’d managed to avoid being sacked altogether.

Tomlin did manage to take the game-wrecker out of the equation, but the win never followed. Cleveland’s 13-6 upset slammed the door on Pittsburgh’s AFC North hopes, handed Baltimore a lifeline, and now turns Week 18 into a high-stakes showdown with the Ravens deciding everything.