ALEX HIGHSMITH
Outside Linebacker
It was a historic night for T.J. Watt, but it was something of a coming out party for Alex Highsmith.
The Steelers believe they have a difference-making one-two punch at outside linebacker, and on Monday night that one-two punch TKO'd the Browns in what ended up being a 26-22 victory at Acrisure Stadium.
Highsmith got the party started when he came down with a tipped pass from Deshaun Watson and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown that gave the Steelers a 7-0 lead just 9 seconds into the game. From there, Highsmith would finish with 7 tackles, including one tackle for loss, a sack, 2 hits on the quarterback, and a forced fumble that Watt returned 16 yards for a touchdown that provided the decisive points in the Steelers victory. Highsmith is the Steelers Digest Player of the Week.
Also considered was Watt, whose sack of Watson in the final minute of the first half gave him 81.5 for his Steelers career to put him atop the franchise's all-time list, and he finished with 4 tackles, including 2 tackles for loss, 4 hits on the quarterback, the fumble he recovered and ran for that 16-yard touchdown, and a pass batted down at the line of scrimmage; Cole Holcomb, who had 8 tackles and a forced fumble; Larry Ogunjobi, who had 4 tackles, a sack, 2 hits on the quarterback, and a fumble recovery; George Pickens, who caught 4 passes for 127 yards, including a 71-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown; and Chris Boswell, who kicked field goals of 50 and 52 yards and banged all of his 6 kickoffs out of the end zone for touchbacks.
