The Pittsburgh Steelers have had some defensive woes early on in the 2025 season. The unit has not performed anywhere close to how it was expected to, and the group has not even played any high-powered offenses yet. It is an obvious issue that could hold the team back in the near future, so it is a problem that needs to be corrected. The amount of injuries on that side of the ball does not help, as Pittsburgh was down two members of the starting secondary in Week 2, while Alex Highsmith suffered an injury during the game that is expected to force him to miss some additional time.
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Steelers outside linebacker Alex Highsmith (56) during 2025 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
Highsmith suffered a sprained ankle during Pittsburgh's Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, and it was initially thought to be a fairly serious high ankle sprain that could land him on Injured Reserve. Thankfully, that was not the case as the injury was not as bad as people originally thought, but he is still expected to miss a couple of games. Behind him are Nick Herbig and rookie Jack Sawyer, and team insider Ray Fittipaldo believes fans should expect to see more of Sawyer, which he stated during a recent appearance on 93.7 The Fan.
"Having Highsmith hurt now is an added blow," Fittipaldo said. "I think we all know that Herbig is a great player, but he's probably better as a situational pass rusher than a guy who's gonna play every single down. So I do think you'll see a lot of Jack Sawyer in the coming weeks until Alex Highsmith is healthy. And I think you might see him a lot of run downs. I think you might see him more than most expect."
Herbig has been a great player for Pittsburgh throughout his young career, but he does struggle when defending the run. He has made countless splash plays while rushing the passer, and he even picked off Sam Darnold in Week 2. However, the run is arguably a weakness for him, which happens to be an area that Sawyer excels.
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Steelers' Jack Sawyer celebrates after making a play while defending the run against the Seattle Seahawks in 2025.
Sawyer has only played 41 defensive snaps throughout Pittsburgh's first two games of the 2025 season, with most of those coming in Week 2 after Highsmith went down. He made an impact against Seattle as he recorded his first career sack, six total tackles, and two tackles for a loss. That certainly has earned him some more playing time, which might force the Steelers to shift Herbig into a role as more of a pass rusher on obvious passing downs.
A concerning trend should not make Pittsburgh feel comfortable about playing Herbig on run downs. When he has played the majority of the snaps in a game, which has happened seven times, Pittsburgh is 2-5 while opponents are rushing for an average of 4.1 yards per carry and 106 yards per game. Pittsburgh cannot have that, and the solution may be to play Sawyer on run downs while Herbig can come in for certain pass-rush situations.
Steelers' Jack Sawyer Could Be The Key To Stopping The Run
Pittsburgh's defense should notice a trend from opposing offenses, and that is that the run will nearly always be going away from superstar outside linebacker TJ Watt. Opposing teams are scared to run the ball in his direction, which means the ball is typically being run to the left. With Sawyer on that side continuing to improve while Highsmith is out, he should be able to slow that run game down. That should help Pittsburgh's defense as a whole.
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Steelers outside linebackers TJ Watt (90) and Jack Sawyer (33) during 2025 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
It is hard to say exactly what is plaguing Pittsburgh's defense. It is certainly multiple things, but more of Sawyer couldn't hurt as the team is looking to find anyway to improve on that side of the ball.
What do you think of seeing more of Sawyer while Highsmith is out for the next couple of games? Let us know in the comments below!
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