Pittsburgh Steelers fourth-round pick Nate Herbig registered his first career NFL sack with 9:20 left in the second quarter of Pittsburgh’s 24-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. OLB T.J. Watt, the NFL leader in sacks who also had a key interception in the third quarter of the win today, praised Herbig’s effort and talked about how he happy was for the rookie to make his mark on the box score and the game.
“I was happy for him. Really happy for him. You guys have all seen the amount of work that he puts in pre-practice, the great preseason that he’s had. I know it sucks for those guys to not get as many pass rush reps as they want, and they’ve been so great about it, him and [Markus Golden], and we know how productive they can be. But Alex [Highsmith] and I always want to be out there in those pass rush situations, so they make the most outta every single snap they get. They don’t complain, and that’s why I’m just so happy that those guys, when they make those plays, because I know how hard they work and how bad they want it,” Watt said via video posted to Steelers.com.
Watt and Highsmith are both Pro Bowl-caliber pass rushers, and it only makes sense for the two of them to be out there for most, if not all, pass-rush downs. But Herbig and Golden, another veteran, are both valuable depth who can help give Highsmith and Watt a breather here and there. It’s important to have those guys who can come in and spell the team’s defensive stars, and Golden and Herbig have the right attitude about it.
Despite the fact that both of them know they aren’t going to get as many snaps as they would like, they never seem to fail to put in the work and prepare as if they were starting and putting in the full volume of reps that Watt and Highsmith do. It’s good to have someone like Golden who has been in that position before where he was a top pass-rusher, so he can help show Herbig the ropes and how to train and prepare, even if the snaps aren’t there.
But ever since he’s arrived in Pittsburgh, Herbig has had a great attitude. He has an endless motor, and it was great to see him come through with a sack for Pittsburgh today and make his mark on the game. Hopefully, it’s the first of many and Herbig continues to have a successful career for the Steelers.
While Watt didn’t have a sack, his third-quarter interception was key to turning the game around for the Steelers. It was a good day for Pittsburgh’s outside linebackers, and they were key in the team being able to turn around in the second half and beat Los Angeles, 24-17.
