I’ve written many times in these spaces that there are two entities that remain undefeated. One is Mother Nature and the other is Father Time. The latter is the one that we fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers struggle with the most and it feels like we may be on the verge of facing him again.
Yesterday, The NFL Top 100 revealed that Steelers’ OLB T.J. Watt was ranked 41st (a drop of 30 spots from 2025) and many fans struggled with this. “There aren’t 40 better players than Watt!” one fan exclaimed. Well, first of all these lists are all useless in my opinion and do nothing other than generate clicks and reactions like the one above. Nevertheless, this gets to the heart of my point.
Coming to Grips
One of the more difficult things to do as a fan of a particular player is to come to grips with “the end.” We struggle to admit that they are no longer what they used to be and it happens to ALL of them. Father Time appears to be coming for Watt. He had just 7.5 sacks in 2025 and his “get off” at the snap dropped as well signaling that he’s slowing down.
Making things worse is that his rival Myles Garrett broke his sack record and won the Defensive MVP award. In all fairness, Watt missed three games after someone in the Training Room gave him an injection that led to a collapsed lung. None of us can say what those three missed games cost him in terms of statistical production but it’s fair to say he likely would have added another sack or two.
Watt also faced more hindrances on his way to the quarterback than anyone else in the NFL not named Garrett. He was chipped on more than 30% of his pass rushes and the rest of his teammates weren’t picking up enough of the slack. This isn’t to say Alex Highsmith didn’t have a good season because he did, but opposing offensive coordinators weren’t influenced enough to stop chipping and double-teaming Watt.
The Acceptance
All of these things are true but the point I’m making is that accepting when our favorite players reach the end is hard. We know how difficult it is for them, just like all of the guys who hang on far too long. As fans, we are often no different. I wish Terry Bradshaw could have kept playing… Franco Harris and Jack Lambert too but the wear and tear, age and Mr. Time came for them. He was there for Hines Ward and Big Ben too.
Players can fight it and many do with great success. Cam Heyward has been giving Father Time a stiff arm for the last few seasons and look no further than Aaron Rodgers who is literally doing everything he can to avoid the inevitable. But even he will submit at the end of this coming season.
So in closing, defend your favorite player at all costs but also be willing to accept what is coming. The list of pass rushers posting big seasons after they turn 31 is very short but Watt will do what he can to extend himself. Maybe Patrick Graham’s new scheme will be a “fountain of youth” for Watt or maybe it won’t. Only Watt will know when to submit to Father Time. Our job as fans is to accept it as well.
