PITTSBURGH — It doesn’t take an expert to see that Pittsburgh Steelers’ linebacker T.J. Watt is on a mission this season. Despite the eye test and statistics showing he’s the best edge rusher in the NFL by a wide margin, Watt’s been continuously passed over for individual awards and recognitions the last few seasons.

All the Steelers and Watt care about is winning, so the individual accolades or lack thereof don’t bother the star LB. However, his week one performance showed that the two might go hand in hand. Watt was an absolute force in their week one victory over the Atlanta Falcons. He had four total tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery. He also had a game-wrecking strip sack called back due to offsides, but the call was a borderline one that could have gone either way.

Another part of Watt’s game that stood out was how effective he was on running plays. Former NFL player and current analyst Chris Long pointed out how much he disrupted the Falcons’ rushing attack. Speaking on his Green Light with Chris Long podcast, Long discussed how impressive Watt was.

“Atlanta tried to pound the ball, and they should, running away from Watt,” he said, “Who was simultaneously wrecking their game. He was on a razors edge of wrecking the game the entire first half. But they’d run the ball away from him. I mean they ran the ball probably 80% of the time to left and when they did run the ball at Watt, he forced the penalty early in the game…It felt like Pittsburgh was at home.”

Watt’s performance has Long thinking about DPOY already. While acknowledging how many good defensive players there are in the NFL, Long believes watching Watt is something totally different.

“You want to talk about DPOY?” he said. “There were a lot of great defensive players. (Aidan) Hutchinson was great, Micah (Parsons) was Micah. You know, some guys had some good days. But watching T.J. Watt,” Long smirked as he failed to finish his sentence.

The compliments kept rolling on the show for Watt. Long’s co-hosts discussed how much game planning goes into competing against the LB, only for most teams to struggle against the Steelers’ pass rush regardless. The Steelers are hoping that their star defender can continue his reign of terror entering week two, and he can continue building his DPOY campaign.

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PITTSBURGH — During the Pittsburgh Pirates’ win over the Miami Marlins on Monday night, top prospect Termarr Johnson sat down with SportsNet Pittsburgh’s Hannah Mears and discussed his rise through the team’s minor league system.

The Altoona Curve, Pittsburgh’s Double-A affiliate, was in town for the game, allowing Johnson to capture a closer look at his future stomping grounds.

The 20-year-old infielder is currently ranked as the organization’s No. 3 prospect and the No. 80 farmhand across the league by MLB Pipeline.

Johnson began the year in High-A Greensboro, where he hit .238/.372/.385 with 13 home runs, 46 RBIs and 20 stolen bases over 110 games. He was promoted to Double-A on Aug. 27 and has slashed .184/.273/.368 in 11 contests with the Curve.

When asked what the transition between the two levels has been like for him, Johnson praised the nature of Altoona’s clubhouse and how that’s impacted him as he’s settled in.

“It’s been great,” Johnson said. “Just having these guys, this clubhouse is great. All these guys are amazing and it’s just cool having them here, and having them throughout the season. I’m excited just to continue to play with them and finish out the season strong with them.”

The former No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, Johnson is heralded as a potential building block within the Pirates’ future core. He’s struggled at times throughout the year, but he possesses an abundance of raw power and strong plate discipline that could help him develop into a true difference-maker at the major league level should his hit tool continue to progress.

Johnson stated that his biggest step forward this season has come with adapting his mindset, ensuring that he’s always prepared and available no matter the situation throughout the course of a game.

“Just being able to be available every day,” Johnson said. “Having that mindset that I’m going out there to play, even on the days off. Having that mindset even when the game is late, just to go in and try to help the team win late in the game.”

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