Joe Flacco had plenty to say about the hit he took from T.J. Watt last season, but he wasn’t ready to label the Steelers star dirty.
The moment came during the first half of a Week 11 game between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati at Acrisure Stadium, when Watt was flagged for roughing the passer after a shot that left Flacco venting on the Bengals sideline. The play was also featured in the third season of Netflix’s “Quarterback” series, where Flacco let his frustration spill out in raw fashion.
“Man, he f***ed me up. He knew what he was doing, too.
Oh, I think so, but he fed me up. It was on my left side, but man, the way he bent me up, this area right here, it just got extra fed up - my right pec.
He was like, ‘I’ve got a chance to hit him here. I’m gonna take full advantage.
“It didn’t feel good,” Flacco added. “But that’s football. That’s the Steelers' defense.”
Flacco has spent a long time dealing with Pittsburgh’s defense. He’s tied for the most games against the Steelers of any quarterback in NFL history with 24, and no one has more firsthand experience navigating that matchup. A longtime Baltimore Raven who has also played for the Browns and Bengals, Flacco has gone everywhere in the AFC North except Pittsburgh.
Even so, when he revisited the hit on “Glenn Clark Radio” on July 14, he backed away from calling the Steelers dirty.
“I don’t think so. I actually enjoy that part of the game,” Flacco said.
“I remember talking about [the hit from T.J. Watt last season], he probably knew I was banged up and that’s part of the game.
When guys are hurt, it’s your job to exploit that.”
Watt’s own 2024 season was a step down by his standards. He finished as a finalist for AP Defensive Player of the Year after piling up 11.5 sacks and a league-leading six forced fumbles, but his first year on a three-year, $123 million extension brought a noticeable dip.
The 31-year-old missed three games late in the 2025 campaign because of a partially collapsed lung, and his 7.0 sacks and 46 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, were well below his usual production. His 12.4 percent pass-rush win rate from last year also has to climb if Pittsburgh wants its defense to hit its ceiling.
The Steelers can lean on Nick Herbig and Alex Highsmith, but Watt’s bounce-back matters. There’s at least some hope a new system under Patrick Graham can help, though questions remain about whether Watt will get all the way back to his previous level.
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