Two weeks through the preseason, two rather impressive showings for Pittsburgh Steelers rookie fourth-round outside linebacker Nick Herbig.
After a dominant showing in the preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with two sacks in just 13 snaps played, Herbig one-upped himself on Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium against the Buffalo Bills, recording three tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, one forced fumble and one quarterback hit.
Herbig’s impressive showing caught the attention — again — of NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger after the Steelers’ 27-15 win over the Bills.
In a breakdown video on Twitter Sunday morning, Baldinger highlighted three clips from Herbig’s dominant showing against the Bills. The first rep was his pass rush early in the first quarter on his first play of the game.
Herbig converted speed to power against Buffalo starting left tackle Dion Dawkins, turning the corner to pressure Bills QB Josh Allen, leading to an incompletion. The next play Baldinger highlighted was Herbig’s tackle for loss on Buffalo running back Darrynton Evans, noting Herbig’s quickness off the ball to knife into the backfield and beat the pulling blocker to get the tackle for loss.
The piece de resistance of the highlight though was Herbig’s jaw-dropping strip sack of Buffalo quarterback Matt Barkley.
“This right here is a beauty; this right here is a thing of beauty,” Baldinger said. “This is very T.J. Watt-like, and when he turns that corner with a great chop and his hand touches that great logo of the Pittsburgh Steelers and he finishes…Nick Herbig is making an impact already.”
Herbig certainly is already making an impact for the Steelers, and he has the look of a legitimate sub-package pass rusher who can make some game-changing plays like he has in the first two preseason games of the year.
The strip-sack of Barkley is something to behold due to the athleticism and insane bend Herbig showed on the rep to stay on his feet and turn the corner. Good luck blocking a pass rusher with that type of speed, athleticism and ankle flexion to be that low to the turf turning the corner if you are an offensive lineman. It’s nearly impossible.
Baldinger wasn’t the only one impressed with Herbig’s performance again, either. It’s becoming a common trend with the Wisconsin product, who hit the ground running in training camp, turning heads immediately.
Watt praised Herbig after the win over the Bills in his post-game press conference, and head coach Mike Tomlin noted that he liked what he saw from Herbig — again.
While there were concerns after the Steelers selected Herbig in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft regarding his overall fit and whether he was better suited inside off the ball due to his size, he has made though concerns look downright silly. As Ike Taylor said early last week, Herbig is like a point guard in the open floor against a center in basketball as a pass rusher.
He has all the tools necessary to be an impactful pass rusher, and he’s showing it time and time again in the preseason. Hopefully it can continue because so far it looks like the Steelers landed a potential gem off the edge.
