C.J. Stroud knows he’s facing a special pass rush Sunday afternoon. The Pittsburgh Steelers lead the league with 13 sacks, boast arguably the best defensive player in football in T.J. Watt and have a stud opposite him in Alex Highsmith, who is finally gaining national recognition.
Houston enters the game with a fractured offensive line. Starting left guard turned left tackle Josh Jones is unlikely to play while franchise left tackle Laremy Tunsil is expected to miss his third game due to a knee injury. It leaves the left tackle situation completely in flux, the Texans potentially turning to veteran George Fant, while ex-Steeler Kendrick Green is almost certainly going to start again at left guard. On paper, the Steelers have a real advantage. But Stroud, off to a hot start, isn’t assuming Pittsburgh will have a good day.
“He’s a great player,” Stroud told reporters of Watt via the team’s YouTube channel. “Both 90 and 56. Two dogs…[Watt’s] probably the best defensive player in the league other than Micah Parsons and a couple other guys that are standing out in the league right now. Gotta be aware of them but at the same time, we’ve gotta have confidence in what we’re doing. They gotta play us too. We’re not going to just lay down and submit because he’s the best player.”
Through three games, Watt leads the NFL with six sacks. He’s also tied for the lead in quarterback pressures (19) and forced fumbles (two) while he’s second in the league with five tackles for a loss. Highsmith is also off to a solid start with two tackles for a loss and a sack that led to a forced fumble and Watt touchdown, while providing a healthy amount of pressure. Defensive tackles Larry Ogunjobi and Montravius Adams have also gotten a push up front while rookie NT Keeanu Benton picked up his first sack in last Sunday’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
On the other side, Stroud has been sacked 11 times through three games. All 11 came in the team’s first two weeks, games in which Houston played from behind, and his jersey was kept clean in Sunday’s win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. A healthy lead helped protect Stroud and he wasn’t sacked in the Texans’ upset victory.
But the Raiders were singing a similar tune heading into Week Three, QB Jimmy Garoppolo not sacked his first two weeks. Pittsburgh took him down four times and hit him countless more times, leading to three interceptions in the Steelers’ victory. To extend their win streak to three, their pass rush will have to have a similar impact.
