Nick Herbig has been grateful for any opportunity he has received during his second season with the Steelers. Through the first two weeks of the regular season, those opportunities came as part of a special three outside linebacker package in third and long situations where he, T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith would all share the field together.
But, the second-year linebacker out of Wisconsin received an even bigger opportunity Sunday when Highsmith went down with a groin injury late in the second quarter and Herbig responded in kind. He tallied two sacks, forced a fumble and recorded three total tackles as part of the Steelers' 20-10 victory over the Chargers at Acrisure Stadium.
After the product he put together in the preseason and the growth that he's shown through training camp and the early parts of the season, no one -- not Mike Tomlin and definitely not Watt -- was surprised by the way Herbig stepped up.
"That kid has supreme confidence in himself, you can't tell him anything. I respect the heck out of it," Watt said. "He's going to do everything that he possibly can to perform. He's going to ask every question. He's going to turn over every stone and just bust his tail. I respect the heck out of Nick and I'm glad that he had the day that he did today."
Herbig made his presence felt on the Chargers' first drive of the second half after Highsmith was ruled out for the remainder of the game. He beat left tackle Rashwan Slater off the edge before coming up behind Justin Herbert for the strip sack. Slater recovered the loose ball, but the momentum swung and the Chargers punted two plays later after being forced into a 3rd-and-15 situation.
It was a thing of pure beauty. The grace. The quickness. The youthful jubilation:
STUD 😤 @nickherbig_
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 22, 2024
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While he said his first sack of the season "was a good feeling," Herbig was a little disappointed with the end result of the play: "I was hoping I fell on that ball. But, unfortunately, they got it back."
What's so impressive about the play was Herbig's ability to turn the corner so quickly and get to Herbert. His first step toward Slater is explosive, but once he gains the advantage, he's able to contort his body around Slater and get into the pocket before Herbert releases the ball.
Then, on the Chargers' final drive of the game, Herbig made another splash play as he sacked backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke for a 10-yard loss to put the Chargers behind the sticks for good. This time, he beat Trey Pipkins III off the edge after Slater had exited the game with a pectoral injury.
2️⃣ sacks for @nickherbig_ so far today 💪
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 22, 2024
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Two plays later, Cam Heyward sealed the win with the Steelers' fifth and final sack of the game. Watt and Elandon Roberts recorded the two others.
"I know we have the best edge rusher in the whole entire world, T.J. Watt, he’s the best in the business and at the end of the day, he’s going to do what he does," Herbig said. "We play off each other, we feed off that energy. It’s a team game."
After the preseason that Herbig had, where he recorded seven tackles, 3 1/2 sacks, four quarterback hits and one forced fumble, he was bound to break through when given the opportunity. Tomlin said he wasn't surprised by Herbig's performance because the 22-year-old is highly motivated and has enough awareness to learn from some of the best linebackers -- Watt and Highsmith -- in the league every time he steps into the facility.
"This guy wants to be great but he’s looking at the recipe every day of his life too," Tomlin said. "He’s sharp enough to follow guys at his position that are doing it at a high level, who’ve been doing it longer than him and I think that positions him more than anything to produce what it is you’re looking at."
Watt echoed Tomlin's sentiments and said that he, Herbig and Highsmith are constantly working together every day and Herbig is constantly asking him questions to try and pick up new moves or tid bits to use toward his game.
However, Herbig's jump from year one to year two has been massive. He's starting to understand the game more and that's allowing him to play faster in a Steelers defense that loves to play fast and aggressive. Watt has seen it from Herbig and the rest of the second-year guys such as Keeanu Benton and Joey Porter Jr.
"You see the jump because you're so much more comfortable out there," Watt said. "You're not just out there saying, I have the curl flat this drop. It's 'Okay, I know what I have, I can hear, I can use all my senses and diagnose what I think is potentially happening on this play.' That's why I think you see that jump from those guys from year one to year two. But with that being said, it's because they want to learn, and he's capable of doing it, and he's able to apply what he learns to the game field, which is huge."
Although it is unknown if Highsmith will miss time, Herbig took advantage of a big opportunity Sunday and continued to play his way into a bigger role on this defense moving forward. Only time will tell how big that role will be.