Too Cold? Not for Steelers LB T.J. Watt

The Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker isn't afraid of the winter storm headed to the game.
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to kick off their Week 16 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders in next-to-zero-degree weather. The expected temperature for game time is 1 degree with up to 50 miles per hour wind gusts hitting the field at Acrisure Stadium. 

The reactions from players throughout the week have not been too exciting. No one seems thrilled to step onto the field wearing extra layers of clothes and borrowing one of George Pickens's ski masks.  

That is except for T.J. Watt - kind of. 

"I'm looking forward to playing ball," Watt said when asked about the weather. "I think everybody has to adjust to I don't know if anybody fully is prepared for zero-degree football. But at the end of the day, it's just gonna come down to the mental side of things and who can block it out and just play ball."

Watt is no stranger to cold weather. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year grew up in Wisconsin and spends plenty of time back home training. Sometimes, that training takes him to ice baths in the middle of a frozen lake - which he says he much worse than anything he'll experience on Christmas Eve. 

"Sitting in that ice is worse for sure. You don't have a heated bench to go after that," Watt laughed. "That was brutal.

The Steelers will have to deal with whatever the weather throws their way, though. With a slight chance at the playoffs still upon them, and added motivation as the team retires Franco Harris's number, they don't have any choice but to show up and perform. 

Luckily, for players like Watt, they get to be on the right side of the ball for games like these. 

"You definitely want to be the person delivering the hits and games like these, I can promise you that," Watt said.

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Noah Strackbein
NOAH STRACKBEIN

Noah is the Publisher for All Steelers, Inside the Panthers (InsideThePanthers.com) and Inside the Penguins (InsidethePenguins.com), and is the host of All Steelers Talk (YouTube.com/AllSteelersTalk). A Scranton native, Noah made his way to the Pittsburgh sports scene in 2017. Now, he's pretty much full-yinzer.