CINCINNATI -- It seems like there can't be a Steelers game in which Nick Herbig doesn't make some sort of splash play. And in the Steelers' 44-38 win over the Bengals Sunday afternoon at Paycor Stadium, they needed the defense to make enough plays to keep the high-powered Cincinnati passing attack at bay.
Protecting a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter, Herbig came through in a way the defense struggled to do throughout the day. The Bengals had come away with a pick six on the Steelers' first offensive series, spotting them seven points right away. But, when it mattered down the stretch, Herbig helped even the scored with a strip sack on which Payton Wilson scooped up and scored:
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All game long, Bengals left tackle Orlando Brown had gotten out of his stance early, often enough to seemingly evade way more false start penalties than he was actually called for. He had to do that because Herbig's speed off the line is a struggle for any offensive lineman. That was on full display here. Brown had no chance whatsoever.
But what's more impressive than the sheer Xs and Os is what happens on the sideline. I asked Herbig after the game about that play, but he pointed to the conversations that take place on the sideline throughout the game. That includes chatting with Alex Highsmith, who was inactive again with an ankle injury. Watch this interaction I had with Herbig after the game, in which you see that same camaraderie off the field:
"He was jumping the snap, but I have guys like Alex on the sideline coaching me up, telling me what he sees, what he's thinking. Just bouncing ideas off each other," Herbig said. "Me, him, Denzel [Martin], T.J. [Watt] -- that's the best room I've ever been a part of in my life. I'm super blessed and thankful."
Wilson, whose locker was just around the corner, succinctly gave all the credit to Herbig: "Credit to Herb. He did the hard job. I just picked it up and ran it in the end zone." But Wilson also lamented the fact that he didn't scoop up the ball after Watt stripped Joe Burrow of the ball on a sack earlier in the game. He talked more about that than he did about his first NFL touchdown.
That's special stuff. That's the Steelers' culture. Above all, they preach splash plays and takeaways. This was the No. 1 passing offense in the league they were facing Sunday. Yards and points were going to be given up. But, this defense needed to make enough plays to give the offense a chance to outscore the Bengals. They were +2 in the turnover battle, which bumps their margin to +15 on the season. That's second in the NFL, not to mention their 25 takeaways lead the league. And while the offense deserves its flowers for 37 points and 520 yards, they win games like these because they can strike with splash.
Complete coverage from Paycor Stadium is in our Steelers Feed.
