The Steelers watched as TJ Watt ran off the Paycor Stadium Field, in obvious pain, screaming out that he had just torn his pec muscle.
And, with that, the outlook of the entire Steelers’ season was cast into an ocean of doubt.
On the field, Alex Highsmith was having the game of his life, racking up a career high three sacks and, alongside Watt, causing havoc in Cincinnati’s backfield.
“It sucked,” Highsmith said of the moment that the Steelers lost the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year for an unknown amount of time. “A guy like him, he loves football. He’s the best in the world at what he does. It sucks to have a guy like him go down.”
Pittsburgh, however, does not feel that all is lost. The defense is packed with other player makers, like safety Miinkah Fitzpatrick, defensive lineman Cam Heyward and, now, Highsmith.
“Alex is coming into his own,” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said Thursday. “Each year he has gotten better. It’s reasonable to expect him to take a nice jump like he did at the beginning of this year.”
He’ll need to. The Steelers have, for at least four weeks, lost a ton of pressure on the edge of their defense. But Highsmith feels that the team’s bevy of depth can fill the void.
“We have a bunch of good guys that are able to come in and produce while TJ’s going to be out,” he said. “It definitely sucks losing a guy like TJ. But I think we have guys who are going to be able to step up.”
The Steelers brought in Jamir Jones last week and Ryan Anderson this week, signed David Anenih Thursday, and had already traded for Malik Reed, who confirmed Wednesday that he was getting Watt’s practice reps.
“We can get pressure,” Austin said. “I’m not sure you can say you’d ever get as much. But I’m not going to discount anything.”
Highsmith was pleased with his performance in Cincinnati, but saw areas on tape he needs to improve.
“I always like to have the mindset that, no matter what the stats say about my game, that I can always play better. I never want to get content. I just want to progress and make each game better than the last. I try not to look too much at my stats, I just want to see if I did a good job to help the team win.”
The Steelers hit Cincinnati, according to Highsmith, in a similar way to last season’s opener in Buffalo, when the team used a four-man rush to create pressure and turnovers. Now the challenge is continuing that week after week.
“Just keeping the same attitude, consistency, and not getting complacent,” Highsmith said. “And guys staying in the film room, because I feel like a lot of the plays that were made — not just from guys making great plays — but also knowing that those plays were coming and reacting off of it because of great film study. All the guys on the defense love to watch film. That’s what makes a great defense.”
Highsmith feels he’s had a positive week of practice, but that it needs to translate into Sunday’s game with New England. The focus of the edge pressure now will be brought by him. And the Patriots will likely key in on stopping the third-year pass rusher.
If he’s successful, the team can have a performance similar to Sunday’s in Cincinnati. It might not be able to force five turnovers again, and Highsmith might not have another three-sack performance, but the point total can look similar.
“I just have to continue to go out there and give my best effort every single play, and that’s what I have to do this week and every single week,” Highsmith said.
“We know the type of defense we are. We know that, if we play how we can play, we can shut teams down like that.”