The Pittsburgh Steelers 2022 football season has come to an end, and unfortunately, they were unable to make the playoffs after finishing the season on a stellar 7-2 stretch coming out of their bye in Week 9.
Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker, T.J. Watt reacts after sacking Baltimore Ravens quarterback, Tyler Huntley at M&T Bank Stadium.| Photo Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
When you look back across the entirety of the 2022 season for the Steelers, there were definitely some highs and lows they had to go through. Coming into the season, the team's linebacker group is one Steeler Nation thought would be a strength of the defense, but instead, they provided a mixed-bag for much of the season.
On paper, the Steelers had a linebacker group that had a lot of pedigree, as well as names that were known around the NFL. On the edge, the Steelers returned both of their starters from 2021 with reigning Defensive Player of the Year, T.J. Watt and third-year player, Alex Highsmith leading the way. In the middle, the team made a splash in free agency by signing former first-round pick, Myles Jack to a two-year contract, who was expected to take some pressure off of the Steelers' 2019 first-round pick, Devin Bush, and them to form a solid tandem together.
For depth, the Steelers expected to be set in the middle, as Robert Spillane provided good experience and the team selected Mark Robinson in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft. On the edge, the picture was a little less clear, so the team traded for Malik Reed from the Denver Broncos shortly before the start of the season, and he was expected to provide additional pass-rush juice to an already elite pass-rushing team.
For Much Of The Season, The Steelers Linebacking Core Struggled To Put It All Together
In Week 1 against the division rival, Cincinnati Bengals, the Steelers got off to a hot start, including their linebacking core. The group combined for 5 sacks, three courtesy of Highsmith, and Jack provided great work in the middle piling up 10 tackles. Despite the excellent performance by the group, a sour taste was left in everyone's mouths as Watt suffered a serious injury to his pectoral and was expected to miss significant time, which he did. Watt didn't play again until after the team's Week 9 bye, and it was a big hit to the group.
Pittsburgh Steelers' T.J. Watt against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season. | Karl Roser / Steelers.com
Over the next seven games without Watt, Highsmith managed 3.5 sacks, which was a respectable number, but Reed managed only a single sack over that time despite playing over 50% of the snaps in every game. The whole pass rush suffered as a whole, which should've been expected, but the drop off from Watt to his replacements was too much for this group to overcome.
Luckily, Watt returned after the bye week and the pass rush started to return to form. Across those final nine games, both Watt and Highsmith combined to sack the opposing quarterback 12.5 times, with Highsmith racking up 8 sacks himself.
The group in the middle didn't suffer any injuries nearly as significant as Watt's, but inconsistent play all year resulted in the defense struggling at times as a whole. By the end of the season, the Steelers were starting Spillane and the previously mentioned seventh round rookie, Robinson in the middle, and it would be hard to argue that they weren't the best combination at the time.
Spillane played 100% of the defensive snaps the final four weeks of the season and he deserved it, as he was a consistent force against both the run and the pass during that stretch. This stretch of increased playing time directly followed an embarrassing at-home loss to the Baltimore Ravens in which the team allowed over 200 rushing yards.
Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin talks to linebackers Myles Jack and Devin Bush. | Photo via 247 Sports
During that same stretch of games, while Spillane's playing time increased, Bush's playing time continued to decrease. So much so that he logged a total of 10 defensive snaps the last two games of the season, while Spillane and Robinson logged 116 and 37 respectively.
All in all, it seemed as though the team found a recipe for success by season's end in the middle by utilizing Jack, Spillane, and Robinson, and it became painfully obvious how important Watt is to this team despite the excellent season and progression from Highsmith. Both Spillane and Bush are free agents, so it'll be interesting to see if either are brought back, but I would expect them to do whatever they could to keep Spillane in Pittsburgh for at least another year.
Overall Grade: C-
How do you think the Steelers linebackers performed this season? Let us know in the comments below!
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