Under the bright lights at Acrisure Stadium for the first time in the 2023 season, a handful of big-name players stood out for the Pittsburgh Steelers in Saturday night’s 27-15 win over the visiting Buffalo Bills.
Names like tight end Pat Freiermuth, quarterback Kenny Pickett, running back Jaylen Warren, and wide receiver Calvin Austin III, not to mention outside linebacker Alex Highsmith, inside linebacker Cole Holcomb and cornerback Joey Porter Jr. really showed out in the win in front of the home crowd.
But despite all of the attention some of the bigger names are generating currently, what about some of the non-starter names that stood out in a big way Saturday night?
Glad you asked.
Below are my five non-starter Steelers that impressed in the win over the Bills Saturday night.
No. 1 Nick Herbig, OLB
What more can be said about this guy?
After a sparkling debut in Week One against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers recording 1.5 sacks, Herbig was a force against Buffalo.
On his first rep of the game, Herbig created pressure on Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen to force an incompletion. Shortly after that, Herbig had a tackle for loss on a run play knifing into the backfield for the stop with great speed. Herbig put a bow on everything with a fantastic cross chop to force a strip-sack-fumble on quarterback Matt Barkley that was recovered by linebacker Tanner Muse. Herbig showed great ability to bend the edge on that rep.
So far, he’s looked spectacular as a pass rusher overall, showing a full arsenal of moves to win off the edge for the Steelers. The hype train is rolling along for Herbig, and he’s doing nothing to slow it with his play. Very impressive overall.
No. 2 Elijah Riley, DB
No guy made a case better this summer not only for a roster spot, but a potential starting spot, to boot.
Defensive back Elijah Riley had a strong game against the Bills, picking off a pass in the end zone to shut down a scoring drive off of a great tip by inside linebacker Cole Holcomb. Later on, Riley batted down a pass in the second half, showing his overall abilities in coverage.
Saturday night’s performance built off a very good one in Week One against the Buccaneers in which Riley had a tackle for loss against the run and had a big open-field tackle on special teams. A late-season addition to the 53-man roster from the practice squad, Riley took advantage of his opportunity and is now making a very strong case for a starting job in a battle with veteran Chandon Sullivan as the slot cornerback.
A performance like the one he put on Saturday night will do nothing but help his case. He feels like a 53-man roster lock at this point, but the position battle is still in the air with both him and Sullivan recording interceptions Saturday night.
No. 3 Anthony McFarland Jr., RB
Lost in the excitement generated by second-year running back Jaylen Warren’s 62-yard touchdown run was the performance that fourth-year running back Anthony McFarland Jr. had against the Bills.
Sure, if you look at just the numbers, they aren’t impressive: nine carries, two yards; two catches, 18 yards. The eyes tell something much, much different though.
McFarland looked really good overall forcing defenders to miss in space, showed good vision overall and really looked like the game had slowed down for him overall. He had a great inside cut on his screen pass from quarterback Mitch Trubisky, setting up his blockers perfectly. He ran hard when called upon, too.
Contact balance looks good, as does his overall power between the tackles. The last few years in the preseason, the game just looked too fast for McFarland. He was overthinking, trying to hit the home run every time and wasn’t avoiding many tackles. Things seem to have really slowed down for him. He’s making guys miss behind or at the line of scrimmage and is just very in-tune with his body and making great decisions with the football.
He didn’t rip off the explosive run the way he did against Tampa Bay, but he looked pretty solid overall on his 11 touches. The No. 3 running back job is firmly locked down for McFarland.
No. 4 Tanner Muse, ILB
With more snaps opened up due to an injury to Nick Kwiatkoski that kept him out of the game, Tanner Muse took advantage. When opportunity knocks, you better answer. That’s what Muse did Saturday night.
Muse recorded a fumble recovery on Herbig’s strip sack, had a good run stuff working downhill in the second half, and laid a hard hit to force an incompletion over the middle late in the fourth quarter. Largely viewed as a special teams piece for the Steelers, Muse had a strong showing in extended snaps as an inside linebacker Saturday night.
This is another signing by Omar Khan and Andy Weidl that looks pretty solid this offseason.
No. 5 Gunner Olszewski, WR
I got a lot of push-back a few weeks ago when I wrote that Gunner Olszewski was going to earn a roster spot because of his versatility, relationship with the quarterbacks and his willingness and toughness to do whatever is asked of him. He showed that again Saturday night, finishing with five catches for 41 yards, showing that chemistry with Mitch Trubisky on the night.
He’s tough as nails, legitimately does anything asked of him and will run throughout a wall to win a rep, let alone a game.
Teammates love him, as does the coaching staff. He even got some work as a punt returner in the win, too.
While Calvin Austin III seems to have that role and the jet sweep receiver locked down, Olszewski can provide some special teams prowess as a, well, gunner, and will cover kicks with the best of them. It’s worth having that guy around, and he showed that on Saturday night.
