One random Steelers play: Nick Herbig blows up a Browns’ run

Two Steelers youngsters shine in BTSC’s newest series.

It’s that part of the NFL season where there’s a lot of hype following OTAs, but not much substance until training camp begins in late July.

That means it’s the perfect time for fun and sporadic new series on BTSC: “One random Steelers play.”

Readers have mentioned wanting more X&Os content on the site, and while I’m not a genius when it comes to that aspect of football, tackling the minute details of one Steelers play at a time is a way to get into some bite-sized discussions about scheme, players, and breaking down tape.

I’ll be sharing my takeaways from each play this series spotlights, but I hope to see yours in the comments as well. Spaces like BTSC are some of the best online for learning more about the game that draws us here in the first place.

So, whenever one of these articles runs, I’ll be selecting one random Steelers play from last season using a random number generator. That gives me what week of the season to pull from, and then I’ll use it again to pick one play from that game.

For full transparency, these plays won’t be completely random — for instance, the first play that was selected for this exercise was blown dead early due to a penalty, so I redid the process to find one that at least counted. So, there will be some light quality control, but otherwise, the plays selected could be anything — there’s no agenda or overarching theme to these breakdowns.

With the intro out of the way, let’s dive into our first random Steelers play, and I’m happy to report it’s a good one to kick off the series:

Google’s random number generator, when picking from 1-18, chose 14, meaning we’ll be looking at the Steelers’ Week 14 win over the Cleveland Browns in 2024.

That game had 171 plays per NFL Pro, so when given that range, the random number generator spit out “145,” which is…

Context: Browns ball on the Cleveland 41-yard-line. The Steelers are winning 27-7 with 10:50 left in the fourth quarter. It’s second and 10.

Here’s the play:

Let’s hit pause early and look at the pre-snap.

The Steelers are in what’s called an over front, as there’s a defensive lineman in the strong side B gap and another in the weak side A gap. In this case, Cam Heyward is lined up at 2i (meaning he’s shaded off the guard’s inside shoulder) in the A gap, while Preston Smith is playing 4i (the tackle’s inside shoulder).

Smith was technically an edge rusher with Pittsburgh, but his size made him a versatile player who could line up all over the defensive front. (Though he gets tossed aside in a somewhat hilarious way on this play, so maybe that’s not an entirely accurate assessment).

Right before the play, you can see T.J. Watt shift from his wide-9 stance to the outside shoulder of the offensive tackle. The eventual run is away from Watt, but it’s interesting to see him try a different alignment from his usual.

This play features a few notable differences from how the Steelers typically run their defense. Primarily a single-high safety team, playing a lot of cover-3 and cover-1 last year (like most of the NFL), the Steelers seem to mix it up here.

While Minkah Fitzpatrick is 15 yards off the ball and shaded to the offense’s receiving strength, DeShon Elliott is lined up in the box. But right before the snap, Elliott backpedals into what looks like it’s going to be cover-2 (also, look how the cornerbacks aren’t bailing), before moving forward again to attack the run.

Zooming out again, we can see that Pittsburgh is in its oft-used nickel sub-package, with only two down D-linemen and Beanie Bishop Jr. covering the slot.

The Browns attempt what looks like a wide zone play of sorts here, given the running back’s initial angle. With DeShon Elliott’s gap now vacated, the Browns focus on combo blocking Cam Heyward, who still holds his ground.

Then, we see the athleticism of two young Pittsburgh defenders shine. Cleveland’s play is predicated on the right tackle at least doing something, but Nick Herbig has a dominant rep, starting off with a jab step right before moving inside in the blink of an eye. He’s barely even touched off the line and immediately explodes into the backfield.

Herbig can’t finish the play, but he knocks it off course. Joey Porter Jr. does a great job containing the run from his outside corner spot, while Payton Wilson has a fantastic rep evading the center’s reach block to bring the runner down. And of course, Cam Heyward is right behind him just in case.

Pittsburgh forces Cleveland into third and long, and an eventual punt down 20 points. Great stuff from the right side of the Steeler defense.

What are your thoughts on this random Steelers play? Any suggestions for the series? Join the BTSC community and let us know in the comments!