While all was not perfect in the realm of defense for the Pittsburgh Steelers last night, they did enough to win the game. It took them nearly the entirety of 60 minutes, but they ultimately got it done. And the pass rush was key in keeping the game where it was throughout the night.
The star of the show was not T.J. Watt but rather Alex Highsmith, who had 11 pressures on the night, including five quarterback hits, two of which were sacks. After a breakout 14.5-sack season a year ago, he had been struggling to convert pressures into sacks again in 2023, but the two-sack game gives him 4.5 on the season and more or less sets him back on the path toward a double-digit-sack season with nine games left to play.
And nobody is happier for him than Watt, who benefits from playing alongside him just as much as the reverse is true. The perennial Pro Bowler notched his sack in the first half, doing so after having his helmet ripped off by the right tackle. But it was the other guy he wanted to talk about after the game.
“I want people to understand how good Alex Highsmith is, how good the spin move is, the get-off, and he plays the run so well, too”, he said on Amazon Prime’s post-game coverage. “Hopefully, tonight was a big showing for him, and people can start to put some respect on his name”.
Highsmith finished last season’s fan voting for the Pro Bowl as among the top vote-getters at the position, but he ultimately did not make it. He was listed as an alternate but did not have the opportunity to go.
A 2020 third-round pick, Highsmith has steadily improved year after year, which is one of the reasons the front office awarded him with a handsome contract extension this summer. He may not be at the top of the market—even Watt isn’t anymore at this point—but he won’t be going hungry anytime soon.
No pass-rushing duo in the NFL has more sacks this season than Watt (9.5) and Highsmith (4.5), who combined have 14 on the season. That is the same number that the Minnesota Vikings’ Danielle Hunter (10) and D.J. Wonnum (4) have, but nobody has more. They also have four forced fumbles and two interceptions and a touchdown between them.
“It’s huge”, Watt told reporters, via the team’s website, after the game when he was asked about what how significant it was to have such a partner on the other side. “Alex Highsmith is a hell of a player and I’m glad that he’s finally starting to get the recognition that he’s getting”.
It never hurts to put your portfolio out there in primetime when everybody in the football world is watching, and Highsmith’s performance against the Titans was certainly noticeable. Will he finally get Pro Bowl recognition? Probably not—how rare is it for teammates at the same position to make it?—but more and more, people know about Pittsburgh’s Robin.
