From the press room: Steelers vs. Cowboys

Back to work: On a night when linebacker TJ Watt recorded his 100th career sack and a total of one and a half sacks were in the game, there was something much more meaningful and important that he wished had happened.

Watt became the second-fastest player to reach 100 career sacks, doing so in 109 career games. Only Hall of Famer Reggie White did it faster, reaching the 100-sack mark in 96 games. Watt is also one of only three players to reach 100 career sacks before the age of 30.

But a win would have meant much more to him.

“As I’ve always said, this year especially, it’s not about individual awards,” Watt said. “It’s just about wanting to win. We didn’t do enough to make it happen.”

In the loss to the Cowboys, the Steelers allowed two long touchdown drives, one of 16 plays and 90 yards and one of 15 plays and 70 yards, to end the game.

The defense also allowed the Cowboys to convert 9 of 15 third-down attempts, something Watt knows is not a recipe for success.

“They obviously performed well and played in the moments where they needed to and we weren’t able to get off the field,” Watt said. “There was a period where they were able to pass the ball to us and that led to those long drives.”

“I think there were (15) and 16 plays, something like that. Obviously when the numbers are limited, it’s just a long time to be on the field. Kudos to these guys.”

“They had a great game plan and executed it better than we did.”

Tomlin said the defense wasn’t “connected enough” in terms of communication early in the game, and Watt said that needs to be worked on.

“I’m sure we’ll figure out a plan after we see the movie,” Watt said. “When it’s so loud at home, it’s obviously always a challenge for the defense. But we can’t make excuses.”

“We just have to keep going and put out a better product.”

While Watt would have liked to have seen one of his teammates recover Elandon Roberts’ forced fumble in the final seconds that Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott recovered, he knows the game didn’t come down to a single play.

“These games in the NFL are so close,” Watt said. “It could be a single piece here or there, but obviously there is a collection of works, a body of work that we need to look at again.

“It wasn’t just about one performance tonight.”

And as Watt stood 3-2 after the loss, he said there was only one thing they had to do.

“We just have to get back to work,” Watt said.