PITTSBURGH -- After an impressive first two weeks of the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense is in a strange place. They haven't been a bad group, suggesting so would be a dishonest evaluation.
But over the past three weeks, the Steelers' defense has not been great. They allowed 22 points to the Indianapolis Colts and 27 points each to the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals. Far from the group they want to be, multiple players on the defensive side are searching for more production.
The most important of this group is linebacker Nick Herbig. After signing a massive extension that made him the team's second-highest paid defensive player behind T.J. Watt, the pressure has been cranked up on the 24-year-old edge rusher.
In response, it's been a disappointing first third of the regular season for Herbig. Through five games, he has just 12 tackles and has yet to record a sack. Is it time to worry about the fourth-year edge rusher? The answer is more complicated than you think.
Why It's Too Early to Worry
It's been a forgetful first five games for Nick Herbig, but we need to pump the brakes on any large concerns. Sure, Herbig hasn't gotten home, with just one quarterback hit, one pressure and 0.0 sacks to his credit.
But there has been flashes. For example, Herbig's athleticism remains a threat. In the pair of times he's been targeted in pass coverage, quarterbacks aren't finding success. Data from Pro Football Reference shows that he's been targeted just twice in coverage, but each time was an incompletion.
There have also been plenty of plays where Herbig's athleticism and speed are present. It hasn't resulted in those big plays we've come to expect yet, but there is still plenty of time to snap out of this funk.
Three Concerns Persists for Herbig
The thing that remains worrisome for Herbig is where the Steelers are using him the most. For starters, he's not seeing the field nearly enough, which is just a continuation of the same issue he's faced the past few seasons. He's played 161 defensive snaps through five weeks, which adds up to around 52% of the total defensive snaps played by the Steelers. Still in a limited role, it's clear that he has fewer chances to make impact plays.
Secondly, one way the Steelers have gotten him on the field is as a part of three edge rusher sets. In those instances, he often plays in the box as an off-ball linebacker. He fills the role admirably, but again, it's not the ideal position for a playmaking edge rusher to be in.
The last concern is missed tackles. In Week 5, there was a noticeable play where Herbig knifed into the backfield from the weak side, but he was unable to bring Jonathan Taylor down and he turned it into a positive play for the Colts. That's happened a few times this season, and according to game data from PFF, he's missed on just over 35% of his tackle attempts in 2026.
If the current usage of Herbig is the plan moving forward, then he might be in trouble. Hopefully, defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has some tricks up his sleeve to get their $25 million linebacker back on track.
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