The Pittsburgh Steelers will travel to upstate New York for a playoff game on Sunday afternoon against the Buffalo Bills after the Tennessee Titans knocked off the Jacksonville Jaguars to help secure a postseason berth for Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, the team will do so without superstar edge rusher and Team MVP TJ Watt, who suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in the third quarter of the team's Week 18 contest against the Baltimore Ravens. Watt jumped and collided with teammate Montravius Adams, causing the accidental injury. Pittsburgh has struggled mightily in games without Watt, a 1-11 record since he arrived on the scene in 2017, but one reporter who covers the team thinks they are in a better position in 2024 to survive without him than in the past.
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Steelers star outside linebacker TJ Watt is tended to by team medical staff after suffering an injury in the team's 2023 regular season finale in Baltimore.
Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was on the North Shore Drive Podcast on Monday morning with host Christopher Carter to break down the Steelers' chances to upset the number two-seeded Bills.
"They knew that was a big problem after last season and they addressed it," Fittipaldo said about pass-rushing depth. "Nick Herbig was a guy who didn't come until the fourth round, but he was a very productive player at Wisconsin. Late in the process, they added Markus Golden, who is a former college teammate of outside linebackers coach Denzel Martin."
While Nick Herbig and Markus Golden haven't had substantial roles in Pittsburgh's defense, they have played important ones in giving Watt and Alex Highsmith some rest throughout the tough rigors of an NFL season.
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Steelers outside linebacker Markus Golden registers a sack on Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley in a Week 18 regular season game in Baltimore.
Golden arrived in Pittsburgh in May after the Arizona Cardinals handed him his walking papers. The nine-year pro has only played in 20.37% of defensive snaps this season for the team, but has registered four sacks. Fittipaldo said that Golden's coming in and understanding his role as an essential depth piece has been crucial.
Herbig made an instant impact in the preseason with 2.5 sacks, including a strip-sack of Bills backup quarterback Matt Barkley in the second week of the preseason. He has also had a limited role on defense, playing in just 16.92% of regular season snaps, but had three sacks and a pair of forced fumbles. Fittipaldo pointed to his strip-sack of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith in the Steelers' Week 17 win and wonders if the team gets a victory without it.
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Steelers outside linebacker Nick Herbig registers a strip-sack on Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith in a regular season game in Seattle in 2023.
Pittsburgh had responded to Seattle kicking a field goal with Mason Rudolph leading the team down to the Seahawks' 13-yard line, and kicker Chris Boswell knocked through a chip shot to put his team up 27-20 with 7:10 left to play. The Seahawks got the ball back, but on the first play of the drive, Herbig came around the edge, knocked the ball out of Smith's hands, and recovered it. The offense was unable to find pay dirt on the short field, but Boswell knocked another short field goal try through the uprights to make it 30-20 with just over four and a half minutes left in the contest.
Steelers Getting Better Depth Contributions Than In The Past
The Steelers have tried all kinds of different depth options behind TJ Watt since he burst onto the scene in 2017 with seven sacks, an interception, and 10 quarterback hits. None have worked out like the duo of Herbig and Golden. In 2022, when Watt missed several games with a pectoral injury, they tried to have trade pickup Malik Reed fill the void opposite Highsmith with little success.
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Former Steelers outside linebacker Malik Reed makes his Steelers debut vs the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022.
Reed only started in a pair of games for the Steelers in 2022. He played in more than 50% of snaps in seven of the 14 games he played in Pittsburgh. While he only cost the Steelers a sixth-round pick, he failed to have much of an impact. He registered a single sack and four quarterback hits, a far cry away from the player who had produced seasons of five and eight sacks in mostly a starting role with the Denver Broncos in 2020 and 2021.
In 2021, the team tried to fill out their outside linebacker depth by adding three-time Pro Bowler Melvin Ingram. He had one start in his six-game tenure in Pittsburgh and picked up one sack and two tackles for a loss. He played in just 26% of defensive snaps in a Week 6 win over the Seahawks and was made inactive for the team's game the next week against the Cleveland Browns. Seemingly upset with his role, the Steelers dealt him to the Kansas City Chiefs for a sixth-round pick. Fittipaldo's comments about the veteran Golden coming to Pittsburgh and accepting a depth position seemed to be a direct shot at Ingram.
Highsmith will be tasked with stepping up again in Watt's absence as he did in a career year in 2022 that earned him a big payday, but should have better help than in the past with Herbig and Golden at his side.
Do you agree that Pittsburgh is in a better position to deal with Watt's injury heading into Buffalo? Comment below!
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