“We are not going to limit Nick Herbig.” Those were defensive coordinator Teryl Austin’s words on October 1st.
In the words of great philosopher Maury Povich, the lie detector determined that was a lie.
Thursday night against the Cincinnati Bengals, Herbig was certainly limited. The game was the first true test of the Steelers plan to balance its top three EDGE rushers: T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Herbig. While all three played against the Cleveland Browns the week prior, game script made it easy to get Herbig his work. Pittsburgh held the lead throughout the entire game and up two scores in the fourth quarter, sat Watt with 10:30 to go, giving him important rest for a quick Thursday turnaround.