The Pittsburgh Steelers are going into the bye week with a record of 6-2 and holding control of the AFC North. The offense is finally finding its footing, but the defense has been as dominate as ever, especially with the help of TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith. The two edge rushers both finished with two sacks each and constant pressure on Daniel Jones throughout the game. The Steelers relied on their star rushers to get the job done, but also started to throw in a new wrinkle in their defense.
The Steelers in their win against the New York Giants in Week 8 began switching Watt and Highsmith back and forth. When asked about this by the media, Highsmith detailed the reasoning on the switching between the two. Not only was it due to the attention that Watt attracts week by week, but it’s something that the defense can continuously include in their game plan as the season goes on.
"Yeah, I mean we are trying it out," said Highsmith. "But I think you know, we just both got to work on our rushes from the other side and doing that and so, but I think it was effective because it threw them off a little bit, and so something we just got to keep working on," said Highsmith.
The pair made Jones’ life a nightmare on Monday Night Football. Watt finished with two sacks, 1 forced fumbled and a fumble recovery, while Highsmith finished his night with two sacks and six hits on the quarterback. Both edge rushers made it their mission to make Jones as uncomfortable as possible to lead to the Steelers’ sixth win of the season and securing first place in the AFC North.
The Steelers have missed the presence of Highsmith for multiple weeks after he suffered a groin injury in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Steelers then leaned on the services of Nick Herbig while waiting for Highsmith to return, but unfortunately, a hamstring injury placed him on the shelve with Highsmith.
The Steelers have needed the presence of Highsmith, especially to get some attention off of Watt. Now that the defense is experimenting with different looks between the edge rushers, both will see more opportunities to get to the quarterback.
Watt is currently having a Defensive Player of the Year type season, with 33 tackles, 6.5 sacks, adding four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Having his partner in crime back elevates his game. Now that the Steelers coaching staff is moving their star edge rushers around, Watt should see more opportunities to get to the quarterback and make those signature Watt plays -- especially in the fourth quarter.
The Steelers finally hit their bye week, gearing towards a tough road to the playoffs, playing all six of their divisional games in the back half of the season. The defense has to keep their opposition on their toes and now introducing the wrinkle of Watt and Highsmith switching sides will have teams adding more prep time to combat it.
Steelers Continue To Find Ways To Get Pressure On Opposing Quarterbacks
The Steelers are finding ways to create pressure off the edge. Watt is proving once again why he is the most dominate player in the NFL and Highsmith is showing his worth to this defense. Pittsburgh will use this upcoming bye week to continue to work their two edge rushers on opposite sides, as it proved it's worth against the Giants. The Steelers will face the Washington Commanders after their bye, where Highsmith and Watt will have their hands full with the favorite to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, Jayden Daniels.
Are Highsmith and Watt the best rushing duo in the NFL? How many sacks will the pair finish with this season? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
