While the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t have much positive to take away from Sunday’s blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, one Steelers was able to hold his head up high by making the most of the opportunity presented to him.
That Steeler would be DL #73 Carlos Davis who was elevated from the practice squad for the first time this season after DL Larry Ogunjobi was ruled out of Sunday’s contest due to a knee injury. Davis managed to breathe some life into the Pittsburgh defense when he got a sack on #1 Jalen Hurts coming on this play below where he and #97 Cam Heyward ran a stunt up front where Davis crashed inside as Heyward attempted to loop around. Davis fell on the play, but quickly got to his feet and ran down Hurts who was attempting to escape the pocket and got him down to the ground.
When asked about the sack Monday in the locker room by the media, Davis responded that he feels that rushing the QB is an aspect of his game that he can brings to the defensive line should his number be called.
“That’s an area of my game that I feel confident in,” Davis said to the media Monday in the locker room on video from Chris Adamski’s Twitter page. “I spend a lot of time in the offseason and working here with Coach Dunbar. It’s just something that I have been able to excel in.”
Davis finished the game Sunday against the Eagles playing 12 defensive snaps (21%) and recorded the tackle that went for the sack on QB Jalen Hurts. He got the short end of the stick for a defensive line that had a fair amount of depth to start the season thanks to the additions of Ogunjobi via free agency and DeMarvin Leal via the draft. However, Ogunjobi missed Sunday’s contest and Leal had been placed on IR with a knee injury of his own, prompting Pittsburgh to elevate Davis from the practice squad which is where he has been since failing to make the initial 53-man roster at the conclusion of the preseason.
Given that Pittsburgh is now on the bye week, there’s a good chance that Ogunjobi will be able to return for their next game against the New Orleans Saints, thus relegating Davis back to the practice squad. Still, Carlos Davis managed to make the most of his limited opportunity Sunday in Philadelphia, albeit in a cleanup sack situation. Should Ogunjobi or another DL on the active roster go down for any portion of time, Davis will look to be ready to step in once again and pick up where he left off.
