With Alex Highsmith out with an injury and Nick Herbig returning from a hamstring issue that held him out for a few games, many thought that trade-deadline acquisition Preston Smith would be playing the bulk of the OLB snaps opposite T.J. Watt. Herbig ended up playing 50 snaps on defense compared to Smith’s 17.
Mike Tomlin explained why the division of labor ended up working out that way against the Baltimore Ravens.
“We were getting off the field,” Tomlin said in his Monday press conference on the Steelers’ YouTube. “We were possessing the ball some on offense.