{"id":850893,"date":"2026-09-17T11:36:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T11:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/850893\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T11:36:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T11:36:12","slug":"gonna-be-a-long-day-former-patriots-qb-expects-new-england-to-emphasize-stopping-t-j-watt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/850893\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Gonna Be A Long Day’: Former Patriots QB Expects New England To Emphasize Stopping T.J. Watt"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 1-0, but they\u2019ve got a challenge in front of them<\/a> this week. They\u2019re playing the New England Patriots, who won the AFC last year.<\/p>\n

The Patriots lost their Week 1 game, so they\u2019re hungry to get their first win. The Steelers shouldn\u2019t make that easy for them, though. While Pittsburgh\u2019s offense sputtered last week, the defense looked as advertised. Specifically, T.J. Watt looked rejuvenated.<\/p>\n

However, former Patriots quarterback Brian Hoyer thinks New England will do everything possible not to let Watt have a repeat performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know from playing Pittsburgh in year\u2019s past while Josh [McDaniels] is the coordinator, the one thing he\u2019s gonna go in and say is, \u2018There\u2019s one guy on that team who can wreck the game and it\u2019s T.J. Watt,’\u201d Hoyer said Wednesday via The Greg Hill Show on Twitter.<\/a> \u201c\u2018We have to know where he is on every single play. Make sure that he\u2019s accounted for.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018If you\u2019re one-on-one on him, you\u2019ve gotta fight your butt off. If we\u2019re giving help, make sure you give good help. Chip him, crack him,\u201d Hoyer recalled. \u201cI would expect to see, early in the game plan, them run at him, crack him, chip him, do all of those things and let him know, \u2018It\u2019s gonna be a long day. You\u2019re not gonna go out there and have one-on-ones with our tackles all day.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Watt had two sacks, three tackles for loss, and a defensive touchdown return against the Atlanta Falcons. His efforts were enough for him to be named AFC Defensive Player of the Week.<\/a> While many people thought Watt was falling off, he quieted the doubters.<\/p>\n

However, that will also put a target on his back going forward. Teams are going to devote a lot of attention to slowing Watt down. That\u2019s nothing new for him. It\u2019s part of the reason why his production dipped in recent years. Opponents were starting to scheme Watt out of games.<\/p>\n

The Steelers might finally have a counter for that, though. They have a new scheme with Patrick Graham as their defensive coordinator now, and he\u2019s using Watt in more creative ways.<\/p>\n

That includes moving him around the formation. The Steelers have talked about having their outside linebackers flip sides for years. However, they never really put that into practice.<\/p>\n

Graham is now doing that. Watt played six snaps on the right side in Week 1. Compare that to last year, where he only saw 12 snaps on the right side for the whole season. Moving Watt was effective, too. One of his sacks against the Falcons came when he lined up on the right side.<\/p>\n

While the Patriots might be planning to scheme Watt out of this game, that might be easier said than done. Also, even if they slow him down, the Steelers have plenty of other difference makers on defense.<\/a> Cam Heyward, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig can cause havoc, as well. Watt is special, but Pittsburgh\u2019s defense isn\u2019t a one-man show.<\/p>\n