The Pittsburgh Steelers will try to upset the Buffalo Bills without their best defensive player. History suggests will be difficult if not impossible.

Outside linebacker T.J. Watt will miss Monday’s AFC wild card game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y. He sustained an ankle injury last weekend in the Steelers’ win over the Baltimore Ravens in the regular-season finale, a victory that helped push Pittsburgh into the playoffs.

The Bills (11-6) are favored by 9 1/2 points over the Steelers (10-7).

Watt led the NFL with 19 sacks in the regular season. He was also selected as a first-team All-Pro for the fourth time in the last five seasons and to the Pro Bowl for the sixth consecutive year.

Furthermore, Watt was voted the Steelers’ MVP for the fourth time.

Losing Watt has been nearly impossible to overcome in past seasons. He has missed 11 games in his seven-year career because of injury. The Steelers are a dismal 1-10 in those games.

However, coach Mike Tomlin feels the Steelers are better prepared to play without Watt this season after going 1-6 without him in 2022.

The Steelers added depth at outside linebacker in the offseason. They signed nine-year veteran Markus Golden as a free agent and selected Nick Herbig in the fourth round of the NFL Draft from Wisconsin.

Golden has four sacks, six tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits in reserve role. Also coming off the bench, Herbig has recorded three sacks, two forced fumbles and five TFLs.

The duo has made an impact even though Golden played just 20% of the defensive snaps and Herbig was on the field for 17%.

“We've got depth at the position,” Tomlin said. “That’s why we went out and thoughtfully acquired Markus Golden. That's why we drafted Nick Herbig. We’re as deep at that position as we’ve been at some time. We’re comfortable with the quality of depth.”

In addition to his league-high sacks totals, Watt was second on the team with 68 tackles behind inside linebacker Elandon Roberts’ 101. Watt also has 36 quarterback hits, 19 tackles for loss, eight passes defensed, four forced fumbles and one interception.

“Life without T.J. and obviously playing without T.J. is significant,” Tomlin said. “But we played without a lot of people this year. It’s just another opportunity for us to strike a blow for the team and to display what team really means. Collective of individuals that work together in an effort to produce an outcome.

“It’s not going to be a one-man job in terms of replacing T.J., just like I stood before you and said similar things when (defensive end) Cam Heyward missed a block of games (after being injured in the season opener). It is going to be a committee approach. Even in doing so, we had better strengthen output in other areas. But that’s ball. There’s an attrition component to it. That’s what makes it the ultimate team game.”

The game was originally scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday but postponed on Saturday by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the NFL in what they said was in the interest of public safety. Up to two feet of snow was predicted to fall in a 24-hour period that includes Sunday afternoon.