Steelers Have Troubling Trend Surrounding Nick Herbig

The Pittsburgh Steelers' primary goal for their Week 3 contest against the New England Patriots is simple: slow down the opposing team's rush offense. The failures in that regard have been the storyline ever since they gave up 105 rushing yards on 13 carries to Kenneth Walker III of the Seattle Seahawks in the prior game. Every single stat that comes out is more troubling than the last, and the noise just keeps getting louder and louder. The only way to shut everyone up is to fix it once and for all. 

It's easier said than done, especially with linebacker Alex Highsmith being out with a high-ankle sprain. That means third-year edge rusher Nick Herbig will get the start, like he did quite a few times during the 2024 season. He has made all kinds of noise as a pass rusher, but these recent games have raised concerns about his ability to stop the run.

In a recent article on X, insider Mark Kaboly brought up the stats of the Steelers whenever Herbig has to play more than half the time.

"[Nick] Herbig has proven to make big plays at big moments, but him being undersized hasn’t helped the Steelers stop opponents from running the ball when he’s started," Kaboly explained. "Herbig has played more than 50% of the snaps seven times in his 31 career games. In those games, the Steelers are 2-5 and are giving up 106 yards per game on a 4.2 yards per carry clip."

If the Steelers do give up 106 yards on the ground in Week 3, that would be seen as somewhat of an improvement on their atrocious performance so far, but the point still stands. Herbig is an absolute beast when attacking the quarterback, but his signature move does not do well in terms of getting in the backfield to hit the running back. He has a lot to work in that regard. 

One thing the world has noticed is that teams have thrived against the Steelers when they run away from TJ Watt. With Highsmith out, that means that Herbig's side of the line will be attacked time and time again. Moving Watt around the defense and running some stunts seems like a logical idea, but Pittsburgh has absolutely refused to let that happen. There are other options to help as well.

The most obvious one is to bench Herbig in obvious run-down situations. The players behind him on the depth chart, Jack Sawyer and DeMarvin Leal, have the ideal body type that the Steelers are looking for in those situations. Leal was seen as a defensive lineman / outside linebacker hybrid, so he especially fits this mold. He was even told that his job will be to stop the ground game. 

Meanwhile, Sawyer offers more ability in the pass rush than Leal, so he can check in for situations where passing the ball is possible, but not insanely likely. He did have his first career sack in Week 2 to go along with an overall solid game. He is earning the ability to see more snaps on defense, and Herbig's size disadvantage will allow him to be on the field even more. 

Steelers Have Another Stat Pointing In The Right Direction

Kaboly also mentions that the Steelers have never given up three straight 100-yard rushing games in the regular season in Mike Tomlin's career. The saying usually goes "third time is the charm," and Pittsburgh has to do everything they can to make sure that is the case again. The Patriots have a great chorus of running backs, along with a quarterback that can take off if needed. Keeping that trend will be a big challenge.