Over the last few weeks with the defense struggling, there’s been a lot of noise about Pittsburgh Steelers backup outside linebacker Nick Herbig needing to play more snaps over Alex Highsmith to give the Steelers a spark.
At times this season, Herbig has been remarkable. He filled in well for Highsmith when he was out with an injury. But since returning to the lineup, Highsmith has largely dominated the snap share opposite T.J. Watt.
That’s led to a lot of frustration as Herbig is too talented to keep off the field. But on Sunday against the NFL’s best offense in the Indianapolis Colts, Highsmith reminded everyone just how good of a player he is.
In 48 snaps, Highsmith generated an elite grade of 90.6 overall from Pro Football Focus, including an 84.4 pass-rush grade. He generated four pressures on the afternoon, recorded two sacks and one forced fumble, and even knocked down a pass in coverage.
He did all that after shaking off an early injury, stating he tweaked his groin again, and playing with his left ankle heavily taped. It didn’t slow him down the rest of the way though.
Let’s head into the film room.
On the second snap from scrimmage defensively, Highsmith was shot out of a cannon, making a big play against the run.
There was a major emphasis on stopping the run this week with Colts running back Jonathan Taylor coming in as an MVP frontrunner.
Highsmith made sure he set the tone in a major way on the first run play. Look at his get-off, allowing Highsmith to attack upfield against Bernhard Raimann. He slips underneath the big tackle and drops Taylor for a loss.
When Highsmith is at his best, he’s leaning on his speed and elite get-off to torch tackles, whether that’s against the run or rushing the passer. This was a good sign of things to come.
With the threat of speed off the edge, Highsmith was able to set up Raimann early in the game with some power.
He created some good movement here, converting that speed to power and knocking Raimann back into Daniel Jones’ lap. Though the ball comes out quickly, protecting both Jones and Raimann, this snap allowed Highsmith to set up Raimann later in the game.
Pass rushing is a game of cat and mouse. There’s some experimenting that goes on, and it’s all about trying to set up the next move. Highsmith was great at it on Sunday.
With the threat of speed to power already in Raimann’s mind, Highsmith leaned on his speed and athleticism to turn the corner and create splash for the Steelers.
Here he uses a good get-off to threaten vertically, getting Raimann to open his hips. That gives Highsmith the edge immediately. He then uses his inside hand to try and knock down Raimann’s punch, but there’s nothing to hit, so he counters quickly with a rip move with his inside arm. That allows him to turn the corner freely and race home to drop Jones for a 10-yard sack.
The depth of Jones’ drop off play-action out of shotgun certainly helped, and Highsmith knew it. Heck of a finish.
In the second half he nearly got to Jones again off play-action.
Another great rush from Highsmith using a quick get-off and then dipping and ripping underneath Raimann to turn the corner. He should have drawn a holding penalty here as Raimann clearly impeded him. But the officials didn’t throw a flag, and it allowed Jones to fire a strike to Michael Pittman Jr. for a nice gain.
Despite the non-holding call, Highsmith continued to lean on speed.
It helped him create splash again, this time getting the ball out, leading to a Derrick Harmon recovery.
Quick get-off at the line of scrimmage again, allowing him to attack upfield. As he does that, watch Highsmith’s inside hand. He clubs down on Raimann’s punch, knocking his hands away. From there, he’s able to rip and finish around the corner, getting the ball out before Jones can throw.
He wasn’t just impactful as a pass rusher, either. In coverage he made a nice play, too.
The Steelers did a really nice job of mixing things up throughout the game, giving the Colts different looks.
On a key third down here, instead of having Highsmith rush, they had him drop, and he found himself right in the lane to make a play. The Steelers don’t drop their outside linebackers into coverage often, but when they do, you need them to be sound. Highsmith has always been solid in coverage, and he made a great play here to deflect the pass, showing off his ball skills once again.
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