Two plays into his return to the lineup after missing the last few weeks with a hamstring injury, second-year Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Nick Herbig made a splash play in a big way for the Black and Gold.
On the second snap from scrimmage Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, Herbig forced a fumble on Ravens RB Derrick Henry, chasing him down from behind and punching the ball out. That led to a recovery from safety DeShon Elliott, giving the Steelers the ball inside Ravens’ territory.
That was the first fumble Henry lost in 538 carries, which is rather remarkable.
Take a look at the play.
Great hustle from the backside from Herbig, and a tremendous job to punch at the football, knocking it loose for the turnover. That’s shades of T.J. Watt right there, who is Herbig’s mentor. It’s not a surprise Herbig has that in his bag, now.
Herbig missed the last four weeks with a hamstring injury that he suffered in Week 5 on Sunday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys. His return coincided with the loss of Alex Highsmith to an ankle injury, suffered late in Week 10 against the Washington Commanders.
Coming into the game, Herbig had one forced fumble on the season. That came in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Chargers in which he raced home and strip-sacked Chargers QB Justin Herbert. Henry previously had two fumbles on the season but hadn’t lost one. He hadn’t lost a fumble dating back to the 2022 season when Henry coughed it up six times.
Herbig stated earlier in the week that he wanted to introduce himself to the world like James Harrison once did against the Baltimore Ravens. After just two plays he’s off to a great start attempting to do that.
