When the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense fails to register a sack, you know it's going to be a rough day. The lack of pressure was obvious as the Steelers got thumped 38-3 by the high-flying Buffalo Bills offense in Week 5, led by MVP front-runner, Josh Allen and perennial Pro Bowl wideout, Stefon Diggs. Kenny Pickett's debut resulted in the Steelers' worst loss since 1989.
#Steelers had a 75-game sack streak at one point last year. They have now failed to record a sack in four games since Sept. 26, 2021 vs Bengals and haven't gotten a sack three times in the last 11 games played. @937theFan
— Josh Rowntree (@JRown32) October 10, 2022
Two-time First Team All-Pro, Minkah Fitzpatrick got credit for the only QB hit in Week 5 at Orchard Park when he got a lick on Allen on the third play of the day after he'd already thrown the ball over the heads of Steelers defensive backs Levi Wallace and Tre Norwood to Gabe Davis for a 98-yard touchdown, tied for the longest scoring play from scrimmage in Bills history.
Cam Heyward is a leader on the Steelers' defensive front that has underwhelmed through five weeks. He's registered just one sack and three quarterback hits this season, all in the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. Following another rough outing for the group, he didn't shy away from calling out his own effort and that of his Steelers teammates when speaking to the media after the loss:
"Personally, I take this, my play, my leadership, not enough. I think every man's gotta do that first to get better. I've got to take that," the three-time All Pro said."Execution. Not tackling. Not using basic things that we practiced from training camp, whether it's staying inside or having the gap or using your hands. It's all of these things included. And that butt kicking we just took proves that. If there's anybody that can say they had a great game, then you're not searching hard enough. We all got to own this. From top to bottom. It's a dark day. When you lose like that, you can't go running from it." Heyward added.
Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher, TJ Watt (#90) participates in 2022 training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA. | Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
One player is not going to solve all the issues on the defense for the Steelers, but getting 2021 AP Defensive Player of the Year, TJ Watt back on the field at some point during the year, likely after the bye week, should help to give the Steelers pass rush a jolt.
In the Steelers season opener against the Bengals, third-year linebacker out of Charlotte, Alex Highsmith registered three sacks and four QB hits. He sat near the top of the league statistically as a pass rusher. Without Watt, his partner in pressuring the quarterback, he's gotten just two and a half sacks and four quarterback hits in four games.
Steelers 2022 Pass Rush Struggles
Only six Steelers defenders, including Watt, have been credited with a sack this season. Highsmith is the only player with more than one. The Steelers have led the league in sacks for the last three seasons, but that is in serious jeopardy with how 2022 has gone for the unit so far.
They will need guys like Heyward, who had 10 sacks last year, to step up their game, if the Steelers want to be even close to the upper echelon of the league in pass rushing. They will also need more guys to chip in to rush the quarterback. Seven players registered multiple sacks last year. Defensive tackle Chris Wormley popped for 10 QB hits and 7 sacks (3rd on the team) starting 14 games. He hasn't touched a quarterback yet this year.
If the Steelers are going to be impactful this season getting to the quarterback, obviously getting back their 22.5 sack man from a year ago will help them return to a more dominant state as we saw in Week 1 against the Bengals. But they will need to find some more contributions from others in the lineup. Can rookie DeMarvin Leal, who managed 8.5 sacks with Texas A&M in 2021 and made his first NFL start against Buffalo, be part of a more successful Steelers approach to getting to the quarterback?
Steeler Nation, how do you feel about the pass rush? Do you think there's anything the team can do in Watt's absence to right the ship? Who do you think needs to step it up? As always, let us know what you think either on our social media feeds or in the comment section down below.
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