Entering Thursday, Pittsburgh Steelers OLB Nick Herbig led the team with 4.5 sacks, and there’s a good argument to be had that he’d been the best player on the Steelers defense. And yet, on Thursday Night Football against the Cincinnati Bengals, where the Steelers struggled to get pressure, Herbig played just 27 snaps, significantly below Alex Highsmith’s 53 snaps. That’s too low.
I can understand some of the reasoning. It’s a short week. Herbig had played a lot on Sunday, and the team might not want to wear him down too early. The Steelers also got off to a bad start against the run, and Alex Highsmith has been a better run defender.