Lots of juice: As the 2024 season began, linebacker TJ Watt made one thing abundantly clear.

He wants to win a playoff game.

And this weekend he hopes that this will happen.

Watt, the Steelers’ first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, has the drive to overcome this hurdle like no other.

“I haven’t won a playoff game since I’ve been here,” Watt said. “I’ve been saying it all season. You know how important this is to me.”

“It starts with us having a great day, day after day, all week. Today was a good day. This whole week has been a good week. But if we’ve learned anything over the last four weeks, it doesn’t matter how well you prepare, how good you feel about your preparation if you don’t get results on game day.”

And game day will be one where the defense has to give everything it has.

The Steelers face the Baltimore Ravens, an opponent the Black and Gold know well, on Saturday night at M&T Bank Stadium. The two teams split in the regular season, each winning at their home venue. In the Week 16 game, the Ravens offense performed strongly, something Watt knows they will have to crack down on this week.

“I don’t know if there’s anything else you can honestly add to that,” Watt said. “I’m looking forward to playing in the playoffs. Last year I wasn’t able to do that.”

“I want to play better than I did a few weeks ago when we played these guys. I feel like we’re capable of playing a lot better football, especially in defense. I feel like we had a really good week of training.” .

“You can’t add juice. You really can’t. I mean, if you don’t get up for these games, I don’t know what you’re doing.”

“It’s a huge game because we’re in the middle of it. Obviously the Ravens, the division opponent. It’s great that we have two games to film, just to see the deep relationships that Mike T (coach Mike Tomlin) always talks about.”

While the game itself is as hyped as it gets, there’s something that gives Watt even more oomph.

And that is the ultimate goal.

Yes, he wants a playoff win.

A Super Bowl championship.

“They always say there’s a big difference between guys who come back and are Super Bowl champions and guys who aren’t,” Watt said. “And that’s not an insult to the guys who don’t do that. I’m one of those guys right now.”

“But a guy who has won a Super Bowl definitely has an aura and a purpose. There is a sense of togetherness, a tight-knit group of men who, when they come back for alumni weekends, hang out together, bond and talk about their accomplishments on and off the field at the Super Bowl. And that’s what we want.

“Don’t confuse this lack of success with a lack of effort. Everyone tries it. We move every stone, every stone we can, to be great. We want to be great. We just have to do it together.” And that doesn’t mean we haven’t done that, but we just have to do everything together when it matters.

“There’s definitely a sense of urgency because it’s the playoffs in the National Football League. That’s why everyone plays the game.”