The Pittsburgh Steelers have relied upon three things to succeed this year: protecting the football, taking it away, and keeping it out of the end zone. When they fail in any of these categories, they generally lose because their margin for error is so slim. Their offense is below mediocre and without the splash plays, their defense isn’t much above it.
The principle driving force for the defense has been the pass rush, however, principally with T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith coming off the edge at outside linebacker. At the moment, both of them are in the concussion protocol. Being without either one of them would be bad news.
For as commendable as their depth might look at outside linebacker this year with Markus Golden and Nick Herbig, there is a reason why the coaches hardly ever take Watt and Highsmith off the field. They need to be out there in the critical moments, and every moment for them tends to be “critical” lately.
Having both suffered events on Thursday night that eventually landed them in the concussion protocol, there is a good chance that one or both will be cleared to play in time for Saturday evening when they are set to play the Indianapolis Colts. But that is far from a guarantee, especially given that both reported symptoms and entered the protocol after the fact.
Watt has been their best defender, as has been the case since his rookie year, so even playing him at reduced effectiveness is a struggle. He has 14 sacks, three forced fumbles, and an interception on the season, as well as three fumble recoveries, one of which he returned for a touchdown.
Likewise, Highsmith also has two forced fumbles and an interception. While he only has six sacks on the year, he also has 16 quarterback hits and has consistently generated pressure that aids the defensive backfield, contributing to poor passes and even interceptions.
As said earlier, the play that the Steelers have gotten out of Golden and Herbig this year has been commendable, to be certain, but it’s no replacement for their two star edge rushers. Given the weaknesses elsewhere on the defense, the lack of star power at the most critical position could doom them.
The Steelers, now at 7-6 after dropping two games in a row, are at a critical point of their season during which they cannot afford to slip. They need to be as close to full strength as they can manage while they rally around Mitch Trubisky as the fill-in quarterback for Kenny Pickett.
If they were to have to go an entire game without both Watt and Highsmith, it would be hard to imagine them coming out of that with a win. Especially with Gardner Minshew under center, the Colts have been above average at protecting the quarterback. They somehow have a top-10 scoring offense as well, even while being below average on possessions downs and average in the red zone. Let them have time to throw and they will.
