Steelers DC: T.J. Watt Being Targeted with 'Hack-a-Shaq' Strategy by Opposing Teams

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin believes opposing NFL teams are employing the football version of "Hack-a-Shaq" on superstar edge-rusher T.J. Watt.

"I think T.J. runs into what all the elite rushers do," Austin said, per ESPN's Brooke Pryor. "These guys are going to hold you until they can't because a lot of times that's the only way they can block.

"I mean I share in his frustration, but I don't think there's anything that we can do about it. We can complain and we can do all that, but that really doesn't solve the problem. So I think we just deal with it. We just continue to fight and go. It's almost like the Hack-a-Shaq."

When center (and now Basketball Hall of Famer) Shaquille O'Neal ruled the NBA, opposing teams tried to slow him down by fouling the big man (and his team's offenses) and sending him to the free throw line, where he made just 52.7 percent of his career shots.

It was all some teams could do to stop the 14-time All-NBA player, who averaged 28.1 points and 11.9 rebounds during his best decade of basketball (1993-2003), per Basketball-Reference.

Now Austin feels Watt, whose 22.5 sacks in 2021 is tied with Michael Strahan for the official all-time single-season lead is running into a similar problem. This time around, though, it's in the form of blockers holding Watt to the best of their abilities.

Austin expanded upon his "Hack-a-Shaq" analogy.

"People would hack Shaq all the time, and he got fouled so much, and everybody knew it was a foul, but after a while they didn't call it because he was so doggone good. So we just got to keep plugging away. And when he has an opportunity to win -- because he'll still win -- he does that. I think as Mike [Tomlin] likes to call it, it'd be sport bitching, and we're not going to bitch about our circumstances. We're just going to play and fight through it, and T.J. will fight through it, and he'll do it because a good pro and he's a great player."

There's no denying Watt's greatness. For the season, he's amassed 14.0 sacks, which is second-highest in the NFL behind the Los Angeles Chargers' Khalil Mack.

But it's clear Watt and the Steelers feel they are facing an uneven battle.

Watt notably needed medical attention after an apparent hold that wasn't called during the game. He later returned. Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review provided more details.

"Play was stopped when Watt needed attention from training personnel after a play with 1 minute, 31 seconds left in the third quarter. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray scrambled for a first down on a play in which Arizona right tackle Paris Johnson had his arm around Watt's lower neck and upper chest."

"The NFL has something going against me," Watt said after the Steelers' 24-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday (h/t Pryor). "So I don't want to talk any more negatively towards them. I don't know what I did, but I'll leave it at that."

Ultimately, Watt and the Steelers must move forward now as they continue their race for the playoffs. At 7-5, the Steelers are one of seven teams with six or seven wins in the AFC, so it's going to be a fight to the finish. Up next is a home date with the New England Patriots on Thursday.