Seemingly healthy up front defensively heading into Thursday night’s matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, the Pittsburgh Steelers were eyeing the opportunity to get after Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins in the primetime matchup.
Things did not go the way the Steelers had hoped, though, as star outside linebacker T.J. Watt and second-year pro Alex Highsmith both exited the game with injuries, leaving the Steelers rather shorthanded in the pass rush department against a veteran quarterback who can pick apart defenses when he has a clean pocket to work through.
With Watt and Highsmith sidelined, the likes of Derrek Tuszka and Taco Charlton were called on to give the Steelers a ton of snaps defensively.