Wreaking Havoc

Having a player that can take over a game on either side of the ball is essential for championship caliber teams. The Pittsburgh Steelers have a pair edge rushers that are taking the league by storm and dominating opposing offensive lineman and quarterbacks.

Everyone in the football world knows linebacker T.J. Watt. Watt is a five-time Pro Bowler, three-time AP1 candidate and one-time Defensive Player of the Year Award winner. He also tied Michael Strahan for the most sacks in a season with 22.5. The resume speaks for itself but his skills that don’t end up on the stat sheet is what separates him from the next guy.

Watt is the Batman of this defense and Robin lines up on the other side of him. His name is Alex Highsmith. While Highsmith only has two sacks so far in 2023, he has 10 pressures, two forced fumbles, two tackles for a loss and seven QB hits.

While his stats don’t jump off the page at you, he’s on pace to break some career highs. While one of those stats isn’t sacks, due to having 14.5 last season and him only having two right now, pressures is one stat that can be broken. He also has six QB knockdowns, the most he’s had in one season is seven; he’s on pace for more than 17.

According to PFF, the Watt and Highsmith duo, is the only duo to be in the top-10 of pressures this season; Watt has 27 and Highsmith has 23.

Batman on the other hand, is absolutely dominating on and off the stat sheet. Watt leads the NFL in sacks with eight through the first five games, he’s on pace for 27. He’s third in the NFL in tackles for a loss (7), first in fumble recoveries (3), tied for second in forced fumbles (2) and tied for first in fumble recoveries resulting in a touchdown (1). He’s all over the field.

The only thing getting in Watt’s way is his injury history. Watt hasn’t played a full season since 2019 and last year he missed seven games. The sky's the limit for this pass rushing duo and they can take a team that lacks the ability to score 20+ points consistently, to the playoffs and possibly an AFC North title, just with their ability to disrupt the passing and run games.

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