The Pittsburgh Steelers EDGE duo of T.J. Watt and Nick Herbig put on a masterclass against the Dallas Cowboys until Herbig left the game with a hamstring injury. But before exiting, Herbig had half a sack and a tackle for a loss, and he wound up as PFF’s highest-graded EDGE rusher for the week ahead of Monday Night Football with a 91 total grade. T.J. Watt finished with 1.5 sacks and a tackle for a loss and 3 quarterback hits. He was behind Herbig as the second-highest graded EDGE of the week with a 90.3 overall grade.
Pittsburgh was getting consistent pressure with both Herbig and Watt in the game, but once Herbig left with the injury, Dallas was able to bring extra protection for Watt and the pass rush struggled to get home. But it was another big game for Herbig, who has done a solid job filling in for Alex Highsmith. If his injury sidelines him for next week and Highsmith remains out, the Steelers’ pass rush will be in trouble.
Watt and Herbig combined for a sack that wound up being Watt’s 100th of his career, and that was a bright moment in what was otherwise a letdown of a game.
Watt is such an essential piece for the Steelers’ defense because it’s so reliant on getting after the passer. The Steelers were able to force a fumble and they picked off two Dak Prescott passes, but with the pass rush not able to get home in the second half and Dallas having success on the ground, Prescott was able to pick the Pittsburgh defense apart, especially on third down as the Cowboys went 9-15 on third downs and had multiple long drives, with two second-half touchdowns coming on 16-play and 15-play drives because the Steelers simply couldn’t get off the field.
It’s why having two talented, healthy pass-rushers is a necessity for Pittsburgh, and we’ll see how serious Herbig’s injury ends up being. But last night was not a banner day from Pittsburgh’s defense despite the forced turnovers, and it’s a unit that absolutely has to be better if the Steelers want to have any success this season.
With back-to-back losses, the Steelers need to figure out a solution to get back on track this week against the Las Vegas Raiders. It’s a game the Steelers should win, but they should’ve won against the Cowboys, too. The defense needs to get its act together, but Watt and Herbig at least have been a bright spot, and were against the Cowboys.
