When the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense hits the field on Sunday night inside Sofi Stadium against the Los Angeles Chargers in front of a national audience, it will be without at least three key starters in safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, outside linebacker T.J. Watt and cornerback Joe Haden.
No excuses will be made though by the Steelers or anyone else on the defense, as the “next man up” mentality is in full effect under head coach Mike Tomlin. That message reverberates with second-year pass rusher Alex Highsmith, who said the Steelers are looking forward to the challenge of Sunday’s matchup against the Chargers.