Fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers have been in a cold war with fans of the Cleveland Browns for many years. The root of all that is the ongoing debate about who the better edge rusher is: TJ Watt or Myles Garrett. While Watt has amassed more stats and has repeatedly been the sack king, Garrett is an analytical darling, as the advanced numbers claim that he is the better player -- primarily with Pass Rush Win Rate percentage (PRWR). Both players have won AP Defensive Player of the Year once with their respective rankings.
Matt Durisko / ap photo
Steelers' star pass rusher TJ Watt shares a brief postgame moment with Browns defensive standout Myles Garrett following a hard-fought AFC North battle between Pittsburgh and Cleveland.
All of a sudden, the Steelers received an ace up their sleeve for this ongoing debate, even though this part does not include Watt. Garrett is currently 12th on PRWR through the first four weeks of the season, as he dropped off hard from being the unquestioned king of that stat, according to ESPN Analytics. The new current leader is actually Steelers edge rusher Nick Herbig.
In 62 reps as a pass rusher, Herbig has won 23 of them for a PRWR of 37%. He leads the NFL in total wins, as well as PRWR through the first four weeks of the season. Second place on the list is Nik Bonitto of the Denver Broncos, who's numbers show 19 of 57 for an even 33.3% respectfully. Bonitto is tied with Micah Parsons in total wins, but with far fewer snaps.
Steelers young stud Nick Herbig starting to draw comparisons to legend James Harrison 👀https://t.co/f6Koyd8Lo7
— SteelerNation (@steelernation) September 30, 2025
Meanwhile, Garrett had just 13 total wins on 58 snaps for a PRWR of 22%. He ranks below players like Jonathan Greenard and Danielle Hunter, among other players listed previously. In fact, third place on the list is his own teammate, Isaiah McGuire. The analytics loved Garrett, but now, they may be starting to turn on him.
Obviously, there is context with the stats: Garrett does get double-teamed often. However, that excuse was constantly dismissed when people would bring up how Watt was always getting chipped, double-teamed, and even triple and quadruple-teamed in some snaps. In fact, the Steelers' superstar managed to break out of his cold spell and wreak havoc on the quarterback in Weeks 3 and 4, and more is expected out of him.
Watt did have a very rough first two weeks, as opposing offenses kept scheming ways to keep him away from the quarterback. Now, it seems like the coaching staff finally did what they previously said they would, and they started moving him around and running some stunts to make him more unpredictable. That has helped him go back to dominating with his signature move while playing left outside linebacker.
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Steelers' TJ Watt rushes against Troy Fautanu in training camp ahead of the 2025 season.
In fact, the focus that teams put on Watt is most likely the reason Herbig leads the league in this type of analytic. No disrespect meant to Herbig, as his speed move is still a deadly weapon that opposing teams have yet to figure out. It does help when he is not getting many chips or double-teams because all of the focus is on his partner in crime on the other side of the line.
Steelers Will Have Big Decision To Make Soon
Even though Herbig has been dominating as a pass rusher, he's not even the full-time starter. After the bye week, Alex Highsmith is expected to return from his high ankle sprain. While he is great in his own right and deserves a starter's workload, it's hard to justify putting the third-year outside linebacker on the bench.
Steelers.com
Steelers OLBs Nick Herbig and Alex Highsmith stand on the sideline during the national anthem.
The Steelers may go back to their 3-OLB packages, but it's still a problem, and one that the coaches are more than happy to have.
What do you think about Herbig's dominance in the advanced analytics category through the first four weeks? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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