The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t have a whole lot go right on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, losing 24-10 at home in a game many expected Pittsburgh to win. The offense sputtered once again, and the defense got gashed on the ground by former Steelers RB James Conner, who put together a strong homecoming performance as a first-time visitor to Acrisure Stadium.
Still, there are a few players who stood out in a positive light coming away from Sunday’s contest. One of them is OLB Alex Highsmith, who registered a good day on the stat sheet, posting eight total tackles (five solo), two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, and 1.5 sacks against Arizona. Reviewing the tape adds more context to Highsmith’s performance against the Cardinals, showing a player who was disruptive as a pass rusher even when he didn’t get home while also providing great effort defending the run.
The Film
As a run defender, Highsmith flashed his quick get off on the snap of the football as well as his effort in pursuit of the ball. Watch this rep where Highsmith comes off the edge and ducks underneath the block attempt by LT D.J. Humphries. He wraps up RB James Conner and swings him down in the backfield for a loss on the play. You see that same get off and relentless effort in the second clip too. Highsmith blows right past the face of WR Rondale Moore, who attempts to block him coming off the line of scrimmage, running right across his face as Highsmith flies into the backfield and blows up RB Michael Carter for minimal gain.
Highsmith not only won coming off the edge, but also by going inside, crossing the face of Humphries in his contest. Watch this play as Highsmith sells the left tackle by taking a step upfield before working laterally to cross his face inside. Clubbing Humphries’ arms down with his right arm, he proceeds to rip through with the same arm to get into the gap, teaming up with OLB T.J. Watt to bring Conner down for no gain.
Highsmith did give ground at times attempting on edge against Arizona’s run heavy offensive attack, but he did a good job of forcing plays back inside and keeping outside contain when the Cardinals attempted to get the corner. Watch this play as Highsmith gets blocked by TE Elijah Higgins, who attempts to kick him out as Conner comes to the line on the outside zone run. Highsmith holds his ground and works through the block of Higgins. Containing the outside, he proceeds to wrap up Conner with LB Mykal Walker to secure the tackle behind the line of scrimmage.
Highsmith flashed that explosive get off as a pass rusher as well against Arizona, timing the snap perfectly to stress Humphries in pass protection. Take a look at the jump Highsmith gets on the snap of the football, having made two steps upfield before the left tackle is even out of his stance. Highsmith dips and rips through the tackle’s block attempt with his left hand and turns the corner and wraps up QB Kyler Murray from behind for the sack.
Highsmith’s second sack of the game was a bit of a gimme as he and Watt split credit on the takedown of Murray. Watch as both Watt and Highsmith come unblocked as the offensive line attempts to set up the screen play to Conner, who fakes the handoff by Murray. Watt is first to the scene as Murray hits the deck to avoid the big hit, initially getting the full sack before later credit was split between him and Highsmith, who also touched Murray down as Watt went for the takedown.
Even when he didn’t get home to the quarterback, Highsmith was still effective at disrupting Murray in the pocket. Take a look at this rep where Highsmith works with power on Humphries after the snap, pushing the left tackle back into the pocket. Highsmith then attempts to rip through Humphries as he nearly gets to Murray, just running outside of him. The pressure forced by him as well as DL Cameron Heyward is enough to force Murray to throw the ball a little low to his intended receiver, who is unable to reel in the catch with CB Joey Porter Jr. in coverage.
Conclusion
It was another strong day at the office for Highsmith, who flashed both as a pass rusher as well as a run defender against Arizona, flying around and making plays thanks to his technique as well as his motor. Highsmith is now up to six sacks on the season with five games left to go, a far cry from the 14.5 he posted a season ago. Still, Highsmith’s impact far exceeds what he does as a sack artist, generating plenty of pressure on the quarterback as well as the plays he makes as a run defender.
Pittsburgh’s defense struggled to get Arizona off the field in the second half as the Cardinals managed to establish a running game that wore down Pittsburgh’s defensive front. Highsmith has been playing at a high level for most of the season, but for this team to keep winning games, the defense must make splash plays. Highsmith must look to take his game to yet another level, similar to that as his teammate Watt and be more than just a good running mate opposite of Pittsburgh’s star player. We’ve seen this impact from Highsmith in the past with his incredible game in Week Two against the Cleveland Browns. We may need to see more performances like that one from Highsmith moving forward if the offense continues to struggle if Pittsburgh wants to keeping winning games close and ugly down the stretch.
