With T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig, the Steelers were ready to hit the ground running with a three-headed pass-rush monster. Unfortunately, that plan hit the skids early in the season. First Highsmith went down, then Herbig, and then Highsmith again.
But with Herbig already back and balling and Highsmith ready to return, the hunt is on again. And as HC Mike Tomlin says, sometimes the strength of the pack is the pack. At times, the Steelers unleashed a pack of three edge rushers at the start of the season.
And Highsmith basically told reporters yesterday that they plan to get back to that. So expect at some point to see Watt, Highsmith, and Herbig on the field at the same time on Sunday. And also expect the Steelers to flip sides more, as Watt already intimated.
“Yeah, absolutely”, Highsmith said when asked if the Steelers would continue moving their edge rushers, via the team’s website. “I think by doing that, it throws different looks at the offensive line. So often, the film has just been us on the same side. By us doing that, by switching it up and having our multiple-outside backer package with three of us on the field at the same time, that throws a different look at offenses. We’ve just got to continue to work that and continue to get better at those looks”.
The Steelers haven’t had the opportunity to run “those looks” for the past 10 weeks. While they have gotten production out of those who are playing, there is a reason Tomlin was giddy about having all three of his top pass-rushers at his disposal at the same time.
Later during the interview, Highsmith faced a more direct question about the 3-OLB package. While he initially answered more reservedly, he started changing his tune. “We’ll see. We’ll see what we do”, he said. Then he added, “I think we’ll definitely still do that. We’ll see what’s in the game plan, especially for those rushing situations”.
T.J. Watt leads the Steelers with 9.5 sacks, to nobody’s surprise. Despite missing four games and only starting five, Nick Herbig has 4.5. Alex Highsmith, who has only played in six games, has three sacks. He was playing some of his best football shortly before his latest injury.
Of course, the Steelers don’t want to overextend any one look, and they also like their non-edge pass rushers. Cameron Heyward has six sacks on the year, and while Keeanu Benton doesn’t have one yet, he wins at the line of scrimmage. He initially earned half a sack last week, but the scorekeepers later credited Watt with a full sack.
But deploying the 3-OLB package strategically could certainly pay dividends. The Steelers have struggled to get home at times this season. Due to injuries, they have also had some issues with fatigue and endurance. That’s why they traded for Preston Smith in-season. But even that veteran addition doesn’t match the potential of the trio of Watt, Highsmith, and Herbig.
