As Week 12 approaches, it’s not a single Pittsburgh Steelers player who stands out as the potential axis-tilter this week; it’s an entire position group.
The Steelers’ pass rush, powered by T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and emerging star at the position in Nick Herbig, has the ability to flip this week’s matchup against the Chicago Bears entirely on its head.
For Pittsburgh, they've consistently found ways to win this fall. Ugly, explosive, wins in chaos, but nothing stabilizes their identity more consistently than their ability to heat up opposing quarterbacks. And with Caleb Williams guiding the Bears, Sunday at Soldier Field will be defined by how consistently Pittsburgh’s edge trio can disrupt his structure.
Watt remains the centerpiece, still the headliner who forces an offense to alter its blocking approach from the moment the huddle breaks. His ability to convert speed to power and relentless pursuit make even experienced quarterbacks jittery, and his presence alone has tilted protections for years.
But when teams slide toward him, that’s when Highsmith thrives. His bend and counter repertoire allows him to win quickly when freed from added attention, and his ability to flatten his rush path is tailor-made to compress a young quarterback’s pocket space.
The Pittsburgh Steelers' pass rush could be too much for Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams to handle
Together, they form one of the NFL’s most symbiotic duos -- pressure from one creates opportunities for the other.
But what elevates this week’s matchup is the continued growth of Nick Herbig. His rapid development into a dependable rotational rusher gives Pittsburgh a third pitch, something that prevents offensive lines from settling into predictable rules. A standout at Wisconsin, like Watt, Herbig’s burst and flexibility create immediate stress on tackles who already have their hands full with the aforementioned pair. He's got at least two pressures in every ballgame this year, and you can bet he'll want to put Williams into the dirt a time or two before things are all set and done on Sunday.
For Herbig, he changes the pace, the angles, and the timing of the Steelers’ front, and that multiplicity matters immensely against a quarterback as rhythm-dependent as Williams is.
For Chicago, Williams has shown flashes of why they spent the first overall pick on him, but has also exhibited moments where pressure disrupts his base, rushes his decision-making, and forces him into chase mode. Pittsburgh’s path to victory travels directly through that dynamic.
If they can move Williams off his spot early, they can unravel his timing and turn Chicago’s offense into a series of off-schedule scrambles rather than sustained drives. Disrupted footwork leads to late triggers, late triggers lead to high-variance throws, and high-variance throws quickly turn into turnover-worthy plays when Watt and company are dictating the terms.
For a Steelers team seeking its seventh win and a firm foothold in the AFC playoff picture, Sunday will likely hinge on whether their pass rush can take over. Soldier Field is a difficult place to steal a road win, but elite pressure travels, and if Watt, Highsmith, and Herbig play to their strengths, they don’t just give Pittsburgh an advantage; they give them the exact formula to control the game’s tempo, force mistakes, and walk out of Chicago at 7-4.