Steelers' budding stars earn team-high PFF grades from dominant Week 13 showing

In a game where the Pittsburgh Steelers won a 44-38 shootout over an AFC North rival, you would think that offensive players who have earned the highest Pro Football Focus grades on the team. This wasn't the case. Despite the dominance of quarterback Russell Wilson, it was a pair of defenders who stood above the rest against the Bengals.

While Joey Porter Jr. and the secondary had an afternoon they would love to forget, edge rusher Nick Herbig and linebacker Payton Wilson played fantastic football. Collectively, they came up with the play of the game, as Herbig stripped the ball from quarterback Joe Burrow and Wilson scooped it up and returned it for a touchdown.

This is hardly the first time either of these young defenders made a splash play. Herbig now has forced a fumble in three straight games while Wilson had an incredible one-handed interception against the Ravens to help seal a victory for the Steelers.

On a day when Pittsburgh's defense couldn't stop a nosebleed, takeaways and splash plays were needed. These two players offered both. For their efforts against the Bengals, Herbig recorded a 91.9 overall grade from PFF --the highest mark on the team among players with at least 25 snaps -- while Wilson's 81.5 overall grade was the second-best on the team in Week 13.

Surprisingly, these performances topped players like Russell Wilson, Cameron Heyward, Mason McCormick, and Najee Harris. Not only did Herbig and Payton Wilson help secure the win with a defensive score, but they also offer assurance that the defense will be in good hands for years to come.

Steelers are in good hands with next-generation defenders stepping up

Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt aren't going to last forever in this league. As impressive as these two have been this year, both players are in their 30s. Their performance will diminish until they eventually retire.

But there is hope.

When the Steelers selected Nick Herbig in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, it was probably with the assumption that he could serve as a rotational player on their defense. But at 6'2'' and 240 pounds, there were many who wondered if the former Wisconsin star would need to make the switch to off-ball linebacker in the NFL.

Instead, Herbig has already emerged as one of the most electrifying and productive pass-rushers on a per snap basis in the entire league. He's done all of this despite turning just 23 years old before Thanksgiving.

Wilson, meanwhile, is a 24-year-old rookie, but he wasted no time making his presence felt with the Steelers. The 6'4'' linebacker has now earned among the highest grades on the team for three straight weeks and is looking like the first-round talent everyone thought he was coming out of NC State. A scary injury history and the lack of an ACL in one knee caused him to slip to the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but he's already outplayed his draft positioning.

These two budding Steelers stars are very early in their NFL careers and could act as building blocks in Pittsburgh. When Heyward and Watt are ready to hang up the cleats, they could be the leaders of this defense.