Pittsburgh Optimistic About Key Defender’s Return vs. Seattle
The Pittsburgh Steelers came away with a win in Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season after beating the New York Jets. Pittsburgh's offense shattered expectations as the group was able to score consistently and put up 34 points in the victory, but the defensive side of the ball for the Steelers left a lot to be desired. New York's offense is not considered to be all that great, which makes the struggles on defense especially concerning for Pittsburgh. There are some reasonable excuses to be made for the defense's poor performance, including health and a questionable scheme.
Going into the Week 1 matchup against the Jets, it was hard to know what to expect from New York's offense. The group is operating under a new head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterback. That is hard to game plan for since that group had never taken the field for a real game before, which means Pittsburgh's defense was guessing a bit. Another issue was health, as Pittsburgh lost DeShon Elliott and Joey Porter Jr. during the contest and were without outside linebacker Nick Herbig going into the game.
The young defender spoke to the media on Friday, and he was optimistic that he would be back on the field against the Seattle Seahawks.
Herbig had been dealing with a hamstring injury since the preseason, which is not the first time in his career that this has happened. He has been able to string together some good days of practice leading up to Week 2, which is a good sign that he will be able to go for the home opener against Seattle.
Herbig is in his third year in the league, and he has been able to produce well while not getting the most opportunities, as he is playing behind TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith. He also allows the coaching staff to be confident in the position while either Watt or Highsmith take a play or two off. This allows the two stars to remain fresh throughout the game, which is crucial for when the game gets close and Pittsburgh needs both players at their best.
The young outside linebacker also adds some talent to the special teams units, as he is a consistent contributor in that regard. He may not be a starter, but he is very important to the team and he would be a valuable, starting edge rusher for nearly every other organization in the NFL. Hopefully this is the last health-related hiccup Herbig faces in the 2025 season, but he does have a history with soft tissue injuries.
Steelers' Nick Herbig Can Make An Immediate Impact For Pittsburgh
Herbig was only able to suit up for 13 games during the 2024 season, but he still managed to register five and a half sacks during the season. In his rookie year during the 2023 season, he recorded just three sacks, which shows considerable improvement from year to year. Hopefully Herbig can continue to build on his success, as Pittsburgh only recorded one sack during the season opener against the Jets.
The last time Herbig faced off against the Seahawks he made an incredible impact. He recorded a strip sack late in the game, and also recovered the fumble himself. The game was close, and it was in a situation where Pittsburgh had to win in order to have a shot at making the playoffs. Hopefully the young defender can make a similar play on Sunday, as the Steelers are still looking for their first takeaway on defense.
Vikings’ biggest nightmare on defense got painfully real in Week 1
Of all the offseason moves made by the Minnesota Vikings — and there were a lot of them — the team’s new-look cornerback group was easily the most concerning among fans.
As fun as Monday night’s fourth quarter against the Chicago Bears was, Week 1 wasn’t exactly a hot start for defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ secondary.
According to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics, the Vikings ranked dead-last among the NFL’s 32 teams in coverage, earning an overall grade of 40.2.
One of the biggest culprits was Bryon Murphy Jr., who, per PFF, was cooked for five receptions, 64 yards, and a touchdown; Bears QB Caleb Williams had a perfect 158.3 passer rating when targeting Minnesota’s top cornerback.
It’s important not to read too much into that. Murphy, for example, was charged with Rome Odunze’s touchdown reception late in the fourth quarter — but the real credit goes to Ben Johnson for scheming up a wide-open Luther Burden in the flat; Murphy was left in no man’s land on that play.
— NFL (@NFL) September 9, 2025
With that said, Murphy’s at his best when deployed as a chess piece in Flores’ scheme, evidenced by his Pro Bowl season in 2024. We saw less of that usage in the season opener.
The Vikings played a ton of zone — they only played man coverage on six of their 47 coverage snaps, per PFF’s Bradley Locker — and as a result, Murphy lined up as a true outside cornerback on 50 of his 67 total defensive snaps, his most since Week 12 of 2023.
That’s never really been Murphy’s game. He lined up outside on just 60.5 percent of his snaps last season; the others were spent covering the slot (29%) or other areas around the line of scrimmage.
It’s entirely possible that Monday’s game plan was specific to stopping Johnson’s exotic offense. We’ll find out soon enough, though, if Minnesota’s lack of a true No. 1 corner will haunt this 2025 season, as fans feared.
Minnesota Vikings shaky CB situation will be tested in Week 2 by Drake London and the Atlanta Falcons
The Vikings’ Week 2 home opener against the Atlanta Falcons offers some intriguing matchups, especially in pass coverage.
QB Michael Penix has an array of weapons at his disposal, with No. 1 wide receiver Drake London at the fore. London was peppered with targets in Atlanta’s tight loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1, and how Minnesota goes about covering him in this game will be telling.
With No. 3 cornerback Jeff Okudah working through the NFL’s concussion protocol — he was spotted at practice in a red non-contact jersey on Friday, per Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune — the Vikings could be shorthanded in the secondary.
That’s not to mention other key injuries on defense, like star middle linebacker Blake Cashman (hamstring) and All-Pro edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel (concussion). Obviously, that’s less than ideal against a dangerous Falcons offense that also features versatile running back Bijan Robinson and athletic freak tight end Kyle Pitts, among others.
This will be another chess-match game for Flores, only he’ll be down some major pieces from the jump. It feels like your quintessential blitz-heavy, man-to-man, get after the QB type of week for the Vikings, facing a quarterback making his fifth career NFL start.
But Minnesota would need to trust its cover guys to make a plan like that work. As it stands, the concerns fans felt over a shaky cornerback room led by Murphy, Isaiah Rodgers, Okudah, and Dwight McGlothern are very much justified.
The Vikings' biggest red flag is waving vigorously entering Week 2 at The Bank.
