Despite securing a 34-22 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, alarming questions surround the Pittsburgh Steelers’ pass rush. The group, by far the highest-paid unit on the defensive roster, failed to generate consistent heat on quarterback Daniel Jones. Pittsburgh logged just one sack, which came via defensive lineman Cameron Heyward late on a broken play.
On the “Snap Count” podcast, former Steelers offensive lineman Trai Essex pulled no punches regarding edge rushers T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig.
"Where the hell is our pass rush?" Essex asked. "Like where are these guys? I know that our secondary isn't where it needs to be, but that's an excuse because I see a lot of these times these boys are getting blocked one-on-one. And granted,
T.J. Watt gets double-teamed and triple-teamed. But that's not the case for Nick Herbig and Alex Highsmith oftentimes and even T.J. sometimes. This is by far the highest paid position on our group and they have not provided consistent pressure."
Co-host and former Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch pointed toward head coach Mike McCarthy’s substitution patterns and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s coverages. Batch noted that strict snap rotations hinder edge rushers from finding a rhythm, while secondary inexperience forces Pittsburgh into soft zone defenses rather than aggressive blitzing.
"When you have the rotations in the manner that Mike McCarthy is doing, that lessens the impact of what you're seeing in that outside linebacker group," Batch explained. "If, because of the inexperience in the secondary, Patrick Graham is not calling blitzes where people are playing man-to-man coverage that he is playing zone and trying to get there with four."
To sustain momentum, Pittsburgh must fix these rotational constraints and scheme its star edge rushers into favorable, disruptive matchups once again.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Why Mike McCarthy's snap rotations hurt T.J. Watt and edge rushers
