Steelers Gave Taylor Heinicke Harsh Reminder Of His NFL Debut

The Pittsburgh Steelers racked up five sacks as a team against the Los Angeles Chargers during their Week 3 matchup in 2024. All of them came in the second half, as the Chargers got more aggressive and tried to take more shots down the field. Not only did they torch their offensive line, but they did so without one of their star players in Alex Highsmith. Nick Herbig, Highsmith's replacement, was a menace in the backfield all throughout the second half. However, this defensive dominance goes far beyond this game for one of Los Angeles' players. 

The Steelers only got two sacks against Justin Herbert before he left due to re-aggravating his high ankle sprain. Taylor Heinicke came in as the backup and completed both of his pass attempts, but he ended hitting the ground three times. He was sacked more than he completed passes. The Steelers harassed him for the rest of the game en route to a 20-10 win. 

This is not the first time that Heinicke and his team dealt with this kind of pressure, however. He spent his 2017 season getting passed around from practice squad to practice squad before signing with the Houston Texans on their main roster. As the Texans' season went on, Deshaun Watson and Tom Savage both suffered massive injuries in what ended up being a lost season, so they were desperate for quarterback depth. 

TJ Yates was the starting quarterback for the Texans as they limped into their Christmas Day game against the Steelers. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh was coming off of one of the most controversial games of the 2017 season, which ended in a brutal loss to the New England Patriots. The Steelers were still fighting for playoff position, while Houston was just waiting for the season to end so everyone could get healthy again. 

That game was pure domination, as the Steelers imposed their will on the proverbial champions of the Injury Bowl. It was 20-0 at halftime, but right before the half ended, Yates got injured, meaning Heinicke had to come in as the team's fourth quarterback of the season. He finished the half without a passing attempt, but he still had to enter the game -- he still had to come in for their next drive.

Steelers Officially Welcome Heinicke To The League

Heinicke managed to complete his first career pass for a 10-yard gain and a first down. That's where the fun ended for him. He managed to escape pressure with a two-yard scramble to set up a third and seven, but the offensive line hung him out to dry. Mike Hilton and TJ Watt both came in on a free rush on the same play. Heinicke's instincts got the best of him, and he ran the wrong way. Hilton caught him for a 16-yard sack, which was his third of the game. 

That ended up being his last play of the game. In the one drive that he was allowed to operate, he had a 10-yard completion and a two-yard scramble, but that big sack wiped it all away. While running backwards was a mistake, the play itself wasn't his fault, as two very speedy blitzers were in the backfield as he fielded the snap. There were even speculations that he left the game injured, which forced Yates back into the game.

The Steelers' ended the game with seven total sacks, including the one huge play on Heinicke. Pittsburgh continued to dominate throughout the game and won 34-6. They improved to 12-3 and locked up a first-round bye, while the Texans fell to 4-11. Even though the Steelers' defense has changed so much since that blowout, they still have the same philosophy: get to the quarterback and make him as uncomfortable as possible. Heinicke was reminded of that after filling in for Herbert almost seven years later.