Alex Highsmith had to deal with double teams for eight games in 2022 in T.J. Watt‘s absence. Now that Watt’s 100 percent and back to his usual dominating ways, Highsmith is more free to do what he does.
And he’s thankful for it.
“I am just blessed to go to war with that guy every week,” Highsmith told Teresa Varley of Steelers.com after learning Watt earned AFC Defensive Player of the Month. “He makes me better. To see his process, what he does. There is a reason he is who he is. He is the best in the world at what he does. Just to go to battle with him every week is awesome.”
The list of ridiculous September stats for Watt seems to go on and on. Six sacks, 11 tackles, nine of them solo stops, 12 quarterback hits, five tackles for a loss, two passes defensed, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries, including one for a 16-yard score. He surpassed James Harrison as the franchise’s all-time sack leader and leads in overall sacks made in the month of September.
Per Steelers.com, Watt is the first player to record six sacks and register a defensive touchdown in a team’s first three games of a season since 1982 (when the NFL officially started tracking sacks).
Watt and Highsmith have cemented themselves as one of — if not the best — edge duos in the NFL. The pair hijacked the Cleveland Browns offense in the Week 2 Monday Night Football matchup when they both scored touchdowns. It was Highsmith’s first pick-six, and Watt had three career touchdowns off various plays.
The two are licking their chops with their next matchup versus the Houston Texans. Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, September’s Offensive Rookie of the Month, is the fourth most-sacked quarterback in the league with 11.
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