Opponents found a way to neutralize T.J. Watt in 2024, and the Pittsburgh Steelers must adjust to help their star pass rusher bounce back.
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2024 season was incredibly frustrating for a variety of reasons—but one of the most concerning was that opposing teams finally cracked the code on how to stop T.J. Watt.
In the Steelers’ last four games, all losses, Watt managed only one tackle for loss and failed to record a sack or quarterback hit. Opposing offenses began chipping Watt with tight ends, running backs, and additional linemen—and it worked, much to the dismay of the Black and Gold.
Watt will likely be open to moving around the defensive line, similar to what other dominant defensive players have done when offensive lines attempt to double-team them with tight ends and running backs, like Myles Garrett and Micah Parsons.
Watt isn’t Aaron Donald, who could simply eat up double or triple teams and continue to find success. The Pittsburgh Steelers should scheme their best player into potential one-on-one matchups.
Watch all 53 touchdowns scored by the Green Bay Packers during the 2024 season.
The Green Bay Packers scored 53 touchdowns across 17 regular season games and one playoff game during the 2024 season.
In all, 12 different players scored touchdowns — two quarterbacks, three running backs, five receivers, one tight end and one cornerback.
Five players — Josh Jacobs, Tucker Kraft, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks and Emanuel Wilson — scored at least five times in 2024. Cornerback Jaire Alexander produced the lone defensive touchdown on a pick-six in Tennessee.
The Packers finished eighth in the NFL in total touchdowns during the regular season. The team’s 23 rushing touchdowns ranked fifth. Jacobs ranked fifth individually with 16 total touchdowns — the most by a Packers player since Davante Adams scored 18 touchdowns in 2020.
Jacobs also scored the team’s lone playoff touchdown.
Here are all 53 touchdowns scored by the Packers in 2024, courtesy of the team’s official YouTube page:
Where did the Packers offense shine or struggle during the 2024 season? Let’s break down a mixed bag for the Packers offense.
The 2024 season was a mixed bag of progression and disappointment for the offense of the Green Bay Packers. In so many ways, the offense made considerable progress in Year 2 with Jordan Love as the starting quarterback, mostly due to the arrival of Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs. But the struggles to end the season — particularly over the final three games — tarnished the end product and eliminated any sense of building optimism entering the offseason.
Improvement isn’t always linear, but the Packers must build off their strengths and get better in a few key areas to take another meaningful step in 2025.
Here’s where the Packers offense shined or struggled during the 2024 season:
Shine: Explosive plays
The Packers ranked fourth in the NFL in explosive plays (as defined by a run of at least 12 yards or a completion of at least 16 yards) and finished in the top five for total plays of at least 20 yards, runs of at least 10 yards and completions of at least 20 yards. And only one team had more passing plays of 50 or more yards than Green Bay’s seven. When at its best, the Packers were an explosive offense that used big plays to set up scoring opportunities. The step forward will likely depend on Jordan Love balancing his hunt of big plays with his desire to protect the football. When Love is hitting big plays down the field, this offense is hard to stop.
Struggle: Run blocking
The Packers rushed for almost 2,500 yards in 2024, but terrific run blocking wasn’t the primary reason why. In fact, one could argue Pro Bowler Josh Jacobs often overcame subpar blocking. Green Bay ranked 23rd in ESPN’s run block win rate and 22nd in PFF’s run block grade, and Jacobs averaged only 2.0 yards before first contact, ranking 51st among all rushers. Matt LaFleur and Adam Stenavich were able to scheme open some explosive runs, and Jacobs was an elite running talent — finishing second in broken tackles forced, per Pro Football Reference and third in yards after contact, per PFF. The Packers became a run-first team behind an offensive line built for pass blocking.
Shine: Breaking tackles
This is where “Feed the Psychos” first originated. According to Pro Football Reference, the Packers led the NFL in broken tackles forced in both the run game (58) and passing game (34). Josh Jacobs finished second in broken tackles as a runner (35) and first in broken tackles as a receiver (13). According to Pro Football Focus, Jacobs led all running backs in missed tackles forced as a receiver (23) and Tucker Kraft led all tight ends in missed tackles forced (15) and average yards after the catch (9.0). Backup running back Emanuel Wilson forced 28 missed tackles on just 106 rushing attempts. Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks combined for 19 missed tackles forced as receivers, and Reed and Bo Melton combined for 10 more misses forced in the run game. Across the board, the Packers were slippery and physical with the football in their hands in 2024.
Struggle: Drops
Drops are subjective, but by almost any stat tracker, the Packers ranked among the NFL’s worst in drops. Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks were the primary offenders — PFF tracked Reed with 10 drops, tied for the third most, while Wicks finished with the worst drop rate in the NFL. The Packers were surprisingly good in contested catch situations (save for Wicks, who was 3-for-15), but finishing the must-have catches was a consistent problem. There were far too many drops in big spots and in big games.
Shine: Avoiding sacks
The Packers allowed only 22 sacks, which ranked as the second fewest in the NFL in 2024. Eight of the 22 sacks were taken by inexperienced backup quarterback Malik Willis, who has a history of holding the ball and converting pressure into sacks. The starter was terrific at avoiding the negative play. Despite battling through two different lower body injuries, Jordan Love was still well-protected in the pocket and consistent in getting the ball out of his hands. Love’s pressure-to-sack percentage of 8.9 was the third best in football, and he didn’t even throw the ball away (15 times) or scramble (7 times) at a high rate. Offensive tackles Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom were one of the best pass-blocking duos in the NFL by PFF grade, and the Packers ended up finishing seventh in pass-block win rate.
Struggle: Third down
The Packers took a surprise step back on third down compared to 2023. The offense converted only 39.6 percent of third downs, and Jordan Love completed only 52.7 percent of his passes and averaged 6.5 yards per attempt on third down. Early in the season, the Packers committed too many early-down penalties and had to attempt to dig out of big holes on third down. Green Bay ended up in (or near) the middle of the pack on third down, on fourth down and in the red zone, so performance in situational football must become more consistent next year.
Shine: Josh Jacobs inside the 10-yard line
The Packers’ early struggles in the red zone were mostly eliminated by Jacobs’ ability to convert touchdowns from inside the 10-yard line. He ended up leading the NFL in both rushing attempts (40) and touchdowns (14) from inside 10 yards, and 11 of his touchdowns came from inside the five. Jacobs finished the season with touchdown runs in eight straight games, setting a new team record. He added another 1-yard touchdown in the postseason. Having a finisher in the red zone was huge down the stretch.
Struggle: Turnovers in big games
The Packers turned the ball over 14 times in their seven losses and only eight times in their 11 wins. Turnovers were especially big in the big games. The Packers turned it over four times in a home loss to the Vikings in Week 4 and four more times in the season-ending loss to the Eagles in the NFC Wild Card Round. Of Jordan Love’s 14 interceptions, eight were thrown in the six losses to the Eagles, Vikings and Lions. The Packers committed back-breaking turnovers in several losses, including two crucial turnovers in the fourth quarter in the home loss to the Vikings, a pick-six to Kerby Joseph in the home loss to the Lions, a Josh Jacobs fumble to open the road loss to the Vikings and a lost fumble by Keisean Nixon to open the postseason. Overall, the Packers took decent care of the ball in 2024, but the turnovers came at terrible times and often in the biggest of games.
Shine: Surviving and thriving with a backup QB
Jordan Love missed two games with a knee injury, exited another in the second half and missed the final 2.5 quarters in the season finale. Incredibly, the Packers went 3-1 in those games — and they had a lead during the final minute of the loss. Backup Malik Willis, who was acquired in late August, was a revelation for Matt LaFleur. The former Titan completed 74.5 percent of his passes, averaged 10.2 yards per attempt, didn’t throw an interception and rushed for 138 yards while leading the Packers to wins over the Colts, Titans and Jaguars. LaFleur didn’t ask him to do much, but Willis consistently executed. The performance of the backup quarterback was the difference between 8-9 and 11-6 for the Packers in 2024.
Handing out season awards for the Green Bay Packers following the 2024 season, starting with team MVPs.
The Green Bay Packers survived an early-season injury to Jordan Love, won seven of eight games after a 2-2 start and clinched a playoff berth at 11-4 but then limped into the postseason, losing back-to-back games to division rivals before falling 22-10 to the Philadelphia Eagles to open the playoffs as the NFC’s No. 7 seed.
While the Packers won more regular season games and improved in almost every meaningful statistical category, the disappointing finish — featuring three straight losses — greatly tarnished the second year of the Love era and left the Packers stuck somewhere between “good” and “great” entering the 2025 offseason.
Last year, an inspired second-half run and a near upset of the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs sent the Packers to the offseason with incredible optimism. The feeling is much different a year later, and Matt LaFleur’s team must now use disappointment — instead of optimism and potential — to fuel improvement in 2025.
The Packers swept the NFC West and AFC South but finished 0-6 against the Eagles, Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions. This was a good team that consistently failed to play well enough in big games to beat a great team.
It was a bumpy ride. Now it’s time to hand out some awards for the 2024 season, starting with team MVPs. Incredibly, all three were veteran additions made before or during the season.
Offensive MVP: RB Josh Jacobs
Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
In his first season in Green Bay, Jacobs created 1,671 total yards, scored 16 touchdowns and made the Pro Bowl. He became the first Packers running back to rush for at least 1,300 yards and score 15 or more rushing touchdowns since Ahman Green, and he was one of only three running backs with at least 1,500 total yards and 15 scores in 2024. Per PFF, Jacobs rushed for over 1,000 yards after first contact, forced 67 missed tackles and created 33 runs of 10 or more yards. He also caught 36 of 43 passes and scored his first career receiving touchdown. The Packers slowly made him the focal point of the offense and Jacobs consistently overcame mostly average run blocking. Jacobs finished the season scoring rushing touchdowns in eight straight regular season games, setting a new team record. In the postseason, Jacobs was a lonely star for the Packers. He did fumble four times. Counting playoff games, Jacobs had 10 games with 100 or more scrimmage yards and 12 games with a touchdown. His 31-yard run in the NFC Wild Card Round was one of the highlight plays of the season.
Defensive MVP: S Xavier McKinney
Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
The former Giant intercepted eight passes, becoming the first Packers player since Charles Woodson in 2009 to get to at least eight picks in a season. His turnover-bonanza to start the season — five interceptions in his first five games — set the Packers defense on track to be a top-5 team in takeaways. McKinney also had a third-down sack and a fumble recovery. His reliability — both in coverage and as a tackler — limited big plays over the top and explosive runs at the second level. Teams just stopped throwing in his direction during the second half of the season, and McKinney ended up not giving up a single touchdown in coverage despite playing almost 1,100 snaps. In almost every way, McKinney was the perfect safety for Jeff Hafley’s defense, and his presence and playmaking helped the Packers make huge strides defensively in 2024. McKinney finished tied for first among NFL players in total takeaways (nine) and was named a first-team All-Pro at safety.
Special teams MVP: K Brandon McManus
(Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
Honorable mention to Edgerrin Cooper, who produced nine special teams on only 64 kickoff or punt coverage snaps. The rookie was a demon covering kickoffs. McManus, who stabilized the kicker position and was nearly perfect during the regular season, is the pick. He made 20-of-21 field goals (only miss was in cold, rainy conditions at Lambeau Field vs. Lions) and all 30 extra points as the kicker over the final 11 games. The veteran hit two game-winning kicks (vs. Texans, at Jaguars) and made all three of his kicks over 50 yards, including a 55-yarder in the cold during the fourth quarter of the season finale. He made 15 straight field goals to end the season, but his season finished in disappointment when he missed from 38 yards in the playoff loss to the Eagles. His field goal percentage during the regular season was 95.2, the second-best mark in team history and first among kickers with at least 20 attempts. The Packers want him back in 2025.
Here’s the injury report for both the Texans and Chargers following Wednesday’s practice.
Here are the full injury reports from Wednesday’s practice for the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers ahead of their wild-card round showdown on Saturday at NRG Stadium.
Stats to know from the Packers’ 2024 regular season.
The Green Bay Packers finished the 2024 season with an 11-6 record, a third-place finish in the NFC North and the No. 7 seed in the NFC playoffs. Matt LaFleur’s team ranked eighth in the NFL in points per game scored (27.1) and sixth in points per game allowed (19.9). The Packers also ranked fifth in the NFL in both yards gained and yards allowed and in the top 10 for both yards per play gained (6.1, fifth) and yards per play allowed (5.2, eighth).
Some stats to know from the Packers’ regular season:
Quarterback Jordan Love finished the 2024 season ranked…
— 5th in yards/attempt (8.0)
— 10th in TD passes (25)
— 12th in passer rating (96.7)
— 13th in success rate (48.3)
— 5th in QBR (69.2)
— 3rd in sack% (3.19)
— 6th in TD% (5.9)
— 26th in INT% (2.6)
— 31st in comp% (63.1)
— 9th in EPA/play (.192)
Running back Josh Jacobs finished sixth in the NFL in rushing yards with 1,329 and fourth with 15 rushing touchdowns. He had 1,671 total yards (sixth most) and 16 total scores (fifth most) over 17 games. His 73 rushing first downs or touchdowns also ranked as the fifth most.
Running back Emanuel Wilson ended his 2024 season averaging 4.9 yards per carry (ninth best among running backs with 100 or more carries) with a success rate of 59.2 (second to only Bijan Robinson). He turned 103 carries into 502 rushing yards and four scores.
The Packers had four players with at least 600 receiving yards and six with 300 or more. Jayden Reed led the way with 55 catches for 857 yards. Reed (1,020) and Jacobs (1,671) were the two players who went over 1,000 total yards. Tucker Kraft led the team with seven touchdown catches, which ranked as the fourth most among tight ends.
Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Tucker Kraft all averaged over 10.0 yards per target. Watson and Reed ranked in the top five in the NFL, while Kraft was second among tight ends. The Packers were the only team with three players in the top 15 of yards per target. Watson’s 21.4 yards per catch ranked second in the NFL.
Tucker Kraft had a 100 percent success rate as a runner — he went 3-for-3 on sneaks from under center.
The Packers were one of four teams with 30 or more takeaways. Green Bay finished with 31 — 17 interceptions and 14 fumbles recovered.
The Packers finished with 45 sacks. tied for the eighth most in the NFL. Overall, 16 different players had at least a half-sack, and 11 had 2.0 or more sacks.
Safety Xavier McKinney intercepted eight passes, good for second in the NFL. He was the first Packers player with at least eight interceptions since Charles Woodson in 2009.
Edge rusher Rashan Gary led the Packers with 7.5 sacks and 15 quarterback hits.
Rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper finished with 13 tackles for loss, which ranked second among off-ball linebackers in the NFL during the regular season. Amazingly, Cooper had the production despite playing in only 14 games and 461 snaps.
Veteran defensive lineman Kenny Clark played all 17 regular season games but finished with only 1.0 sack, four tackles for loss and five QB hits over 686 snaps. Not nearly enough disruption for a guy the Packers signed to a 3-year, $64 million deal in July.
Cornerback Keisean Nixon forced three fumbles, delivered 3.0 sacks, intercepted a pass, broke up six other passes and produced eight tackles for loss.
Kicker Brandon McManus connected on 20 of 21 field goals (only miss was vs. Lions in the rain at Lambeau Field) and all 30 extra points. His 95.2 percent field goal percentage ranked second in the NFL. The Packers did not miss an extra point (46-for-46) during the regular season.
Three members of the Green Bay Packers were voted to the Pro Bowl roster for the 2024 season: running back Josh Jacobs, edge rusher Rashan Gary and safety Xavier McKinney.
Three members of the Green Bay Packers were voted to the Pro Bowl roster for the 2024 season: running back Josh Jacobs, edge rusher Rashan Gary and safety Xavier McKinney.
Jacobs earned his third Pro Bowl selection, while Gary and McKinney are both first time Pro Bowlers.
Jacobs is fifth in the NFL in rushing yards (1,285) and second in rushing touchdowns (14) this season. He’s also third in missed tackles forced (66) and fifth in runs of 10 or more yards (31). He was previously a Pro Bowler in 2020 and 2022 while with the Raiders.
Gary leads the Packers in sacks (6.5), quarterback hits (14) and total pressures (44). He is also third in stops (27) and has a forced fumble and a fumble recovery over 16 games.
McKinney ranks second in the NFL in interceptions (seven) and total takeaways (eight). He had an interception during each of his first five games. By overall grade at PFF, McKinney (87.1) is No. 1 among Packers defenders and No. 4 among all NFL safeties.
Guard Elgton Jenkins is a first alternate, while other alternates include cornerback Jaire Alexander, defensive lineman Kenny Clark, tight end Tucker Kraft, quarterback Jordan Love, center Josh Myers and kick return specialist Keisean Nixon.
Incredibly, right tackle Zach Tom is not even a Pro Bowl alternate.
Roman Wilson’s return to the field may not come this season, with Steelers insider Gerry Dulac predicting a 2025 debut.
Steelers fans hoping to see Roman Wilson make his long-awaited comeback in the final three regular season games or the 2024 season may need to wait a little longer. Steelers insider Gerry Dulac described the situation regarding Wilson’s return in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and he believes the receiver won’t return in any capacity this season.
When asked for his opinion on Wilson’s return, Dulac stated:
“He has missed all of training camp and nearly all of this season. He is not going to play because he is not ready. Next year.”
It is important to note that the Pittsburgh Steelers have not made an official decision regarding Wilson. However, judging by head coach Mike Tomlin’s previous comments about the rookie wide receiver, suggesting they had ‘moved on’ from his availability concerns, Dulac may be right on the money with his 2025 prediction for Wilson.
Fans of the Steelers may be disappointed that Wilson may not contribute in his rookie season. However, many receivers in Pittsburgh’s past, especially those drafted in the later rounds, have also struggled to make significant contributions in their first year.
The Steelers face a challenging six-game stretch, but Cam Heyward’s leadership offers a steady focus on improvement and perseverance.
Competition breeds excellence! Within this final six-game stretch to end the 2024 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers will face the Cincinnati Bengals’ explosive offense twice, three fearsome Super Bowl contenders in the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, and Philadelphia Eagles, as well as the Cleveland Browns, who already defeated Pittsburgh once this season. However, Steelers DT Cam Heyward offers an interesting perspective on how the team should handle the troubling schedule realization.
During Wednesday’s media availability leading up to the Week 13 contest against the Cincinnati Bengals, Heyward stated, “I think when you look at our schedule, you know you can’t change anything. You can’t cry about it. I think you look at it as who’s next on the list and how can we improve from our last performance.”
As a veteran presence and leader in the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room, Heyward checked all the right boxes you’d want in a proper rallying speech heading into this tough six-game stretch.
Despite trailing 17-10 against the Tennessee Titans, the Texans’ offense found a spark with Collins’ 5-yard touchdown reception from C.J. Stroud in the second quarter. On a third-and-five, Stroud waited for the 6-foot-4 target to break open before connecting him at the back of the end zone.
As the pride of Houston’s offense, Collins was greeted with sheer delight as he hopped into the stands to celebrate with the H-Town crowd. Meanwhile, the Texans continue to drive on offense after forcing a Tennessee turnover.
The touchdown marked Collins’ first score since his 67-yarder against the Bills on Oct. 6. That was also the last play of the campaign before spending on the injured reserve with a hamstring problem.
Collins was on pace for a breakout All-Pro season before the injury. Let’s see if he can get back to that form in the closing months of the NFL regular season.
: 