It’s unfortunate, but injuries are part of football. This year, the Pittsburgh Steelers are more than aware of that. They’ve been decimated at a handful of positions due to injuries. Outside linebacker has gotten particularly thin recently. Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, and even DeMarvin Leal could not play against the Las Vegas Raiders, so players like Jeremiah Moon and Ade Ogundeji needed to step up. T.J. Watt seemed impressed with the effort they put forth.
“He played lot,” Watt said of Moon after the Steelers’ 32-13 win via the team’s YouTube channel. “Him and [Ogundeji] stepped up. Had a great game today. Trying to find ways to get off the field a little bit more and let those guys get some snaps. We knew they were more than capable of getting some positive snaps. And even at the end there, [Ogundeji] had a couple nice rushes. And the blocked punt was incredible by Moon.”
On initial viewing, Moon and Ogundeji did seem to at least hold their own against the Raiders. Neither of them had a sack, but they still impacted the game. Specifically, Moon blocking a punt during the third quarter really opened the game up for the Steelers. They were already leading by five points, but that play felt like the start of when the Steelers began to pull away.
Neither Moon nor Ogundeji are as high-profile as Watt or Highsmith, but they didn’t let that stop them. They allowed Watt to catch his breath, which seemed to do him wonders in this game. He forced two huge fumbles, proving once again that he is one of the best players on the planet. When you have a guy like that on the other side, life is a little easier rushing the passer.
It doesn’t seem like Highsmith or Herbig will miss a ton of time, but the Steelers don’t seem to be in dire straits at outside linebacker. It’s not like the Raiders have an incredible offense, but Moon and Ogundeji did their jobs. That’s all the Steelers want. The defense looked shaky to start, but the unit pulled it together to finish with a fantastic day. That kind of performance takes everyone.
