In the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 20–13 season-opening win over the Atlanta Falcons, edge rusher Alex Highsmith came through with the game-clinching play. Deep in the fourth quarter, with Atlanta driving in Pittsburgh territory on third-and-five, Highsmith unleashed a sharp inside spin move to sack quarterback Cooper Rush, taking the wind out of the Falcons' final drive.
Highlighting the play on his “Locked On Steelers” podcast, host Christopher Carter detailed how Highsmith spent the afternoon calculating his moves to set up that decisive rush.
"Alex Highsmith put on a really nice spin move that won the inside gap, got him into the lane of Cooper Rush, and because Rush was holding on to the ball, it led to a sack," Carter explained. "Huge play at the right
moment for the Steelers, something they were drawing up the entire game."
Carter pointed out that the sack was far from an isolated pass-rush win. When Carter caught up with Highsmith in the locker room, the outside linebacker verified that the play was the execution of a game-long strategy.
"I just knew that we need to get off the field in that play," Highsmith told Carter. "So, for me, I knew that the way I was rushing, I was going to be able to open up different moves. So, I kind of took that inside on that. That's the thing about pass rush. You know, it's a chess match. You set up things throughout the game."
Carter also emphasized how the front seven and secondary operated in tandem, noting that Patrick Queen's late-matching zone coverage forced Rush to delay his delivery. Highsmith credited that backend execution to Carter, noting, "rushing and coverage work together."
By combining meticulous rush planning with sticky coverage, Highsmith and the Steelers closed out an essential victory.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: How Steelers coverage created critical Alex Highsmith sack
