The Cincinnati Bengals’ defense faces a daunting task on Thursday Night Football when they take on their AFC North rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers will have their ears pinned back when going after newly minted Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco in the pocket. And the name leading that charge is not the one you are expecting.
Nick Herbig is Pittsburgh’s leading pass rusher and the most significant threat to the Bengals’ offensive game plan. And if they focus their eyes on T.J. Watt too long, Herbig could embarrass them like he has other teams this season.
Nick Herbig’s versatility means anyone can get it
The Steelers do an excellent job moving Herbig around and displaying his versatility. He not only beats tackles off the edge, but he can also abuse slow-footed interior offensive linemen.
Pittsburgh’s defensive coordinator, Teryl Austin, formerly the Bengals’ defensive coordinator under Marvin Lewis, is going to line Herbig over every offensive lineman at some point in the game. And each lineman must hold up one-on-one against him because of the attention that Alex Highsmith and Watt command.
When those individual matchups occur, we hope they turn out better than some of the reps that happened in their Week 13 game in 2024.
As crazy as it may sound, for tonight’s matchup, the Bengals might want to key in on Herbig first, Highsmith second, and Watt third as far as the classic pass rushers are concerned.
As Mike Florio noted, the Steelers are one game shy of breaking their franchise record of four consecutive games with five or more sacks. They have a chance to set that mark against a shaky yet recently resurgent offensive line play. And that charge will be led by Herbig.
Nick Herbig’s fantastic production highlights Bengals’ lack of pressure
Through just four games played, Herbig has 12 tackles, six tackles for loss, 12 QB hits, 4.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and an interception. Also, Herbig has 17 pressures and shares the league lead in that category.
Herbig is also first in the NFL in pass rush win rate at 36%. The next closest is Will Anderson Jr. at 33%. Herbig leads the league in pass rush wins with 31. The next closest in that category is Maxx Crosby with 26.
Now is a good time to reiterate that Herbig has accumulated those statistics in only four games played this season.
For comparison, Trey Hendrickson, the Bengals’ best pass-rusher who's out for Week 7, has 15 tackles, three tackles for loss, eight QB hits, four sacks, and one forced fumble. Hendrickson’s pass-rush win rate is 21% and has 19 pass rush wins compared to Herbig’s 31.
The comparison is not a slight on Hendrickson. He has no one to draw the opposing offense’s attention away from him.
On the other hand, when facing Herbig, teams must also contend with Watt, Highsmith, Cam Heyward, rookie Derrick Harmon, and Jalen Ramsey, who has suddenly become a pass-rushing menace.
Of course, the circumstances are different, but the numbers are what they are.
And it is not just the amount of pressure, but how Herbig is getting it done. He is one of the fastest in the NFL when rushing the QB.
Nick Herbig has 11 quick pressures under 3 seconds this season, T-10th best among all defenders even though he's only played 4 games.
— Derrick (@Steelers_DB) October 13, 2025
This is good (and very wealthy) company, FWIW. pic.twitter.com/XLJyYBaGGJ
Bengals missed draft evaluations keep on giving
Hypothetically speaking, do you think that the Steelers would trade Herbig for Myles Murphy straight up?
Earlier, we compared Herbig’s numbers with Hendrickson’s. A better, more apt comparison is Myles Murphy. Both are members of the 2023 draft class. Except Murphy was drafted on Day 1, while the Steelers selected Herbig on Day 3.
This season, Murphy has 12 tackles, one tackle for loss, two QB hits, and 1.5 sacks. Murphy has been a disappointment for a first-round pick.
However, this is not shade thrown in Murphy’s direction. The fault lies at the feet of the evaluators who allegedly scouted Murphy and still decided he should be the pick, even though his ceiling was clear.
While fans wanted an eventual predecessor to Hendrickson’s throne, what they should have expected was a solid, Sam Hubbard-like defensive end. It is fair to question if the Bengals have gotten even that. Actually, no. That would be very disrespectful to Hubbard to ask such a question.
Now the Bengals’ 2025 first-round pick, Shemar Stewart, makes his long-awaited return to the field after missing the previous four games due to injury. And if Stewart can perform anywhere near the level that Herbig is, fans will be ready to put his name in the ring of honor.
Herbig getting drafted in the 4th round as a situational pass rusher, only to be the type of prolific edge rusher the Bengals have tried and failed to draft, is embarrassing in itself.
But Herbig does not fit the mold of what a pass rusher is, so despite my, or anyone’s wishes to the contrary, he or a player like Highsmith were probably never in the cards from a talent evaluation standpoint.
If that is the case, to paraphrase Shemar Stewart, the team is more concerned with players fitting a mold than with winning games.
Bengals must respect Herbig for the threat he is
If Herbig were to come in and wreck the Bengals’ offensive game plan while Cincinnati's pass rushers struggle to get to Aaron Rodgers, it would not be a good look.
So while Watt will most likely command the attention of the Bengals' offensive line, it is Herbig who risks being the most annoying and problematic thorn in Cincinnati’s game plan.
And if the Bengals do not treat Herbig like the threat he is, he could make them regret it, one embarrassing pressure at a time.