J.J. Watt appreciates opposing fans being kind about him calling his brother’s games

J.J. Watt has called a lot of Steelers games in his first season as CBS’s No. 2 analyst alongside Ian Eagle. This past weekend’s matchup against Indianapolis marked another game where he had to balance being a professional broadcaster with the fact that his younger brother, T.J., is one of Pittsburgh’s best players.

According to Watt, it’s not nearly as complicated as people think.

“Honestly, it’s not nearly as bad as I think people think it would be,” Watt told The Dan Patrick Show. “It’s a job. You’re up there, and I know how to be professional. I know how to do my job. I talk to him before the game. I talk to him after the game. But, during the game, Ian handles the play-by-play anyway, so I have like a 3 or 4 second where he makes a strip-sack fumble, where Ian is doing his job really well, and then I break down the play. From the fan reaction, I’m very appreciative of all the opposing fans who have been so kind because I have consciously tried to keep it extremely unbiased.”

The Steelers-Colts game gave J.J. plenty to work with.

T.J. had a strip-sack fumble that he recovered himself in the second quarter, helping Pittsburgh force six turnovers total in a 27-20 win that snapped a two-game losing streak. Ian Eagle called the play, J.J. broke it down, and apparently everyone moved on without incident.

That’s how it’s supposed to work, at least in theory. J.J. leans on Eagle to handle the actual moment-to-moment play calling, which creates a natural buffer between what’s happening on the field and when J.J. has to analyze it. By the time he’s breaking down T.J.’s technique on a strip-sack, the play is over, the replay is rolling, and he’s just doing his job as an analyst rather than reacting as a brother.

The reality is that J.J. has called a lot of Steelers games in his first season with CBS. Between his Week 1 debut on Jets-Steelers, multiple other Pittsburgh matchups, and his Netflix Christmas Day appearance last season, he’s become a regular presence for anyone watching T.J. play. That’s partly by design — the Steelers keep getting CBS’s No. 2 crew because they keep playing good games — but it’s also created some genuinely awkward situations.

J.J. has had to interview T.J. in production meetings while pretending they don’t talk every single day, asking formal questions about defensive schemes to a brother he probably texted that morning. He’s dealt with NFL teams being more guarded in those meetings because of his connection to Pittsburgh, though Watt has said those meetings are “overrated” anyway.

But once the game starts, J.J. says it’s just work. He talks to T.J. before and after, maintains professional distance during the broadcast, and lets Eagle handle the heavy lifting on play-by-play. The fan reactions have been positive, which J.J. appreciates, especially from opposing fans who could reasonably complain about a brother calling his brother’s games if they wanted to.

Most analysts don’t have to worry about their younger brother making a game-changing play while they’re in the booth. But according to J.J., the actual execution is more straightforward than the premise suggests.