The best pass rushers from 2024 the Steelers are set to face in 2025
After taking a look over several days at some of the best offensive players at their positions in 2024 who the Steelers are scheduled to face in 2025, it’s time to switch sides of the ball and look at a couple areas of the defense. Before moving on, here at the offensive groups who have been covered so far:
Rushers
Receivers
Quarterbacks
Tight Ends
Today it’s time to check out players who rush the passer using sacks as the measuring statistic. Although sacks are not the end-all to pass rushing stats, they are the easiest stat as they are officially kept by the NFL. As I said before, there could be injuries, trades, benchings, or holdouts which could make these players not able to see the field when they face the Black & Gold. But for now, these things can’t be known for sure. This list consists of players who had at least 11.0 sacks in 2024, their overall rank in sacks last season, and the week in which they will face the Steelers.
Trey Hendrickson (1st)
Cincinnati Bengals
Week 7, Week 11
Although Hendrickson was the top name on this list last year, this time it was as the NFL’s leader in sacks. In the six previous games against the Steelers prior to 2024, Hendrickson had notched at least 1.0 sacks in five of them. The only game he did not have a sack was the Week 1 Steelers overtime victory in 2022. But in the matchup later that season, Hendrickson had 2.0 sacks in the Bengals win. In all of the other matchups against the Steelers in his three seasons in Cincinnati, Hendrickson had 1.0 sack. So with 6.0 sacks in six games comes out to a very even 1.0 sack on average every time he has played Pittsburgh. In 2024, Hedrickson was shut out in the sack department in the Steelers 44-38 victory, but had his best sack output against the Steelers in Week 18 with 3.5 en route to a 19-17 Bengals win.
Myles Garrett (2nd)
Cleveland Browns
Week 6, Week 17
Myles Garrett logged 14.0 sacks in 2024, his second-straight season at that number. When it comes to when he plays the Steelers, Garrett has faced the Steelers 15 times with six games having no sacks. Garrett had 2.0 sacks in the Week 1 tie in 2018 and had another 2.0 sack in the Week 11 victory over the Steelers in 2023. Garrett had his most sacks in a game against the Steelers last season when he had 3.0 in their first matchup on Thursday night in Week 12. In 15 games, Garrett had a total of 13.0 sacks against the Steelers. To compare, in 15 games in which T.J. Watt faced the Browns, he has 17.0 sacks.
Kyle Van Noy (4th)
Baltimore Ravens
Week 14, Week 18
After 11 seasons and five different franchises, Kyle Van Noy hit double-digit sacks for the first time in his career in 2024. Facing the Steelers twice as a member of the New England Patriots, once in the 2016 postseason and once in the 2018 season, Van Noy had one sack but was primarily playing off-ball linebacker. Over the last two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, he faced the Steelers five times including the playoffs where he had one game with 1.0 sacks and another game with 1.5 sacks.
Jonathan Greenard (t-5th) & Andrew Van Ginkel (t-8th)
Minnesota Vikings
Week 4
The Vikings had a pair of pass rushers reach double-digit sacks in 2024, both of them in their first season in Minnesota. Jonathan Greenard had 12.0 sacks in 2024 after having 12.5 in his final season in Houston in 2023. During that season, Greenard had 2.0 sacks in a 30–6 win over the Steelers. As for Andrew Van Ginkel, it was his first season hitting double-digit sacks as he had 11.5 in 2024. Van Ginkel faced the Steelers in 2022 is a member of the Miami Dolphins and had no sacks in the game but did have 11 tackles.
Leonard Williams (t-10th)
Seattle Seahawks
Week 2
Playing 10 years in the NFL, Leonard Williams has been a member of three teams as he has been treated two different times during the regular season. What is interesting enough is he has faced the Steelers one time with each team he has been with and had 1.0 sacks in each game. In 2016 Williams had one sack against the Steelers with the Jets while in 2020 he had one sack as a member of the New York Giants. In 2023 Williams added a sack as a member of the Seahawks. It should also be noted that every game Williams has faced Pittsburgh, the Steelers have been victorious.
The Vikings are a problem, I hear they’ve got this DC… Pgh can’t be anything but sharp in Dublin. Both Steelers OTs will need to be on their Ps and Qs, Week 4. Pgh needs to win out through Week 7, if it can.
I’m hoping not to see Hendrickson, Bengals management can be stubborn. Shemar can confirm.
Aidan Hutchinson Detroit Week 16. I’m sure this guy will be chomping at the bit to get back at it. Before his injury that ended his season he was have a dominating start to the 2024 season.
Greg Rousseau Buffalo Week 13. My memory often fails me but for some reason It feels like he had some decent success against us in the recent past. Believe it may have been in a pre season game but still. He also had a sack and a few TFLs in a playoff game
Yep, Rousseau took Brod77’s lunch money last preseason, when Brod played hurt, needing reps.
Hoping Rodgers and his somewhat still quick release will mitigate some of that pressure.
This is a must-have, PB56. AARod’s Jet experience would have been far worse without his quick release.
Hendrickson and Garrett logged a cobined 31 sacks last year, 6.5 against the Steelers in just 1 game each.
That’s about 20% of their sack production. Hope A. Smith pays attention to what went wrong there and corrects for it this year. (Hint: stop trying to block dominating rushers 1-1 for the majority of the game)
Arthur Smith, or OL coach Pat Meyer, or both? Odd that teams do exactly as you suggest to hinder T.J., makes me wanna go “hmm”.