Watt's next?

The sack, strip and fumble recovery that put the exclamation point on the Steelers’ 27-14 victory over Miami was “next-level-type” stuff, in wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster’s estimation. But outside linebacker T.J. Watt acknowledged there was another level he didn’t attain late in the fourth quarter on Monday night. “It could have gone better,” he maintained. “To pick it up and run it in for a touchdown would have been the ultimate.” Watt settled for his second sack, second forced fumble and a fumble recovery on the play that punctuated a night that also included three quarterback hits. “Just trying to make a play on the ball and impact the game as much as possible,” he explained. “As a defensive player you can impact the game on every single play. When you do get those chances, it’s about capitalizing and making the most of them. It’d be a good play just to be able to get the sack and get the quarterback down. Why not make it a great play and at least go for the football and try to rip it out? “Trying to take plays from good to great is the field that I’m in.” To borrow a catchphrase, business is booming.Watt has 17 quarterback hits, six tackles for a loss, six sacks, three fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles, three passes defensed and an interception in a 2019 campaign that has yet to reach the halfway point. He’d probably have to agree that he’s having a pretty good season if he ever thought about such things, but he doesn’t. “This is the NFL and you can never really sit back and think like that,” Watt said. “You’ll be humbled so quickly. “This league is such a humbling league.” Individual accolades, likewise, aren’t on Watt’s radar. “We’re in week six or seven ,whatever it is, I’m trying to get wins, man,” Watt said. “We’re sitting here at 3-4 and we’re trying to get to 4-4 any way possible. “Me being an All-Pro player or Pro Bowl or any of that stuff isn’t necessarily going to help contribute to the record. I’m trying to get us a win on the board this week.” Watt did that against the Dolphins despite playing through an abdominal injury. Among the most encouraging developments for the Steelers this week is he’s emerged seemingly no worse for the wear after playing 56 of 60 defensive snaps (93 percent) against Miami. Watt wasn’t listed on the injury report following this afternoon’s practice. “It’s still super early in the week, so we’ll see how my body keeps reacting,” Watt said. “But a lot better than I expected to feel like, so I’m happy about that.”