The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the New York Jets on Sunday by a close competition of 34-32. Though the match was full of storylines but it mostly revolved around 2 starting quarterbacks facing each other. But the Steelers’ new QB stole the majority of the headlines with his 4 touchdowns and helped his team to claim a crucial victory. However, the Steelers’ outside linebacker also has something to say about his former teammate and the Jets’ new QB, Justin Fields.

While Alex Highsmith chased his former teammate on Sunday, he has been praising him since. “He’s such a dynamic quarterback, he’s a great player,” Highsmith said on NFL Network’s The Insiders on Tuesday. “He was able to roll out a couple times to get a touchdown, and then just climb up in the pocket. Cause we had him, had him in there a couple of times, but he was able to get out of there. He definitely had a good game against us.” 

Although the Jets lost, Fields had quite the debut. He was very consistent with his passing. Fields completed 16 of his 22 attempts, throwing for 218 yards and a touchdown. It looked as if he made the Steelers pay when he took off running. He got a good number of carries (12) and gained 48 yards on the ground. Sure, he just had one passing touchdown, but he should be appreciated for his 2 rushing touchdowns. The Jets couldn’t have asked for a better debut from him.

Honestly, it looked like he took what he learned from the Steelers and just leveled up. He won four games with the Steelers with the same smart playing, protecting the ball, not trying to force anything, but still completing a solid number of passes. What is even better is how much he has grown after his rough start in the league. He now seems more confident in using his legs rather than forcing bad throws.

Should the entire Steelers defense be held accountable?

Justin Fields completely took the Steelers defense off guard. He exposed some of the Steelers’ defensive loopholes. Jaun Thornhill, who was hyped that his unit could be the best ever in the training camp, could not convert that on Sunday. The Steelers’ defense seemed completely clueless about how to handle a mobile QB. Apart from Fields, Steelers ODL Highsmith also took out his frustration on the defense.

Speaking after their close win, he emphasised that their level of play was “not the standard for our defense.” “We got punched in the mouth to come at the gate, and that’s not the standard for us. And so we just got to get in the lab. We got to digest this film and so we just gotta. You know, we’ve got to come out. We got to play more physical from the jump. You know, it obviously wasn’t good enough from our part,” Highsmith said in the post-match interview.

Although the Steelers’ defense got bullied, there are key takeaways that they can improve for their future appearance. Their below-par performance should not be blamed on rookie defensive tackle Derrick Harmon‘s absence, as they are a high-paid lineup. The Steelers have to get some answers for the pass rush. Though it was lovely to see Alex Highsmith on the team, after having an entire offseason to figure out why this group can’t pressure the quarterback, they need to expect more from T.J. Watt.