Meet Me At The Quarterback; Weeks 4 & 5

By Lee Wakefield

I’ll start this week’s article with a little bit of self-promotion, because, well, why not?

In last week’s article, I suggested that we all keep an eye on Chargers edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu in the Bolts’ game against the New York Giants. The Chargers lost the game, but Tuipulotu put in the game of his life on Sunday.

The former USC Trojan had four sacks and a further tackle for loss. He had a total of 7 pressures in the game and was a constant thorn in the side of the Giants’ offensive line.

Tuipulotu has needed to step up and is doing so. Not only has he now been given a starting role in his third year of his career, but he’s also leading the defensive front, which is temporarily missing Khalil Mack.

Tuipulotu has 23 total pressures through four games. The rest of the Chargers’ edge rushers have 14 in total.

When we’re looking for a young player to take a leap from one season to the next, this is what it looks like.

Quick off the Snap

In last week’s write-up, I also earmarked Jeffery Simmons for your attention in the Titans divisional game with the Texans.

There wasn’t much to shout about from a Tennessee point of view, as the Texans ran out 26-0 winners at NRG Stadium. It was a game where defenses were on top until the fourth quarter, with the score at 6-0 heading into the final act.

Simmons had everyone’s attention early on in the game. Well, everyone aside from the Houston offensive line, when he wrapped up CJ Stroud for one of the quickest sacks you’ll likely see this season. In the clip below, you’ll see it was the fastest sack in the past couple of seasons.

Another player who is getting to the quarterbacks in a hurry is the Rams pass rusher, Jared Verse.

Like Tuipulotu, Verse is another young edge rusher making his way in the league and ascending into the leader of his unit.

Verse leads the team with 17 pressures so far this season. Six of which came in Sunday’s game against the Colts as Verse turned in another dominant display, with three of those pressures coming in under 2.5 seconds.

Verse also managed to turn these pressures into a sack as the Rams won the game on Sunday.

Making His Case for Comeback Player of the Year

The Lions were fantastic last season. Dan Campbell’s men went 15-2, as they went on a destruction tour around the NFL.

What was more impressive was that they did it without Aidan Hutchinson, who was lost in week 5 with a broken leg. This was a massive blow to the Lions, as Hutchinson had put up 7.5 sacks, 17 QB hits, and a forced fumble to that point, in what was looking like a special season. One that could end up in a Comeback Player of the Year award, perhaps?

However, 97 is back in the lineup and is causing offensive lines problems again, with the former Michigan man putting up four sacks and a forced fumble through four games so far this year. He also has 23 pressures (joint 3rd best in the league) and a 19.7% pass rush win rate on true pass sets to go along with the splash plays that he’s producing. Hutchinson is also doing all of this whilst being double-teamed 60% of the time. Truly a player who needs to be accounted for at all times. The Cleveland Browns failed to lock him up and became the latest victims this week as Hutchinson and the Lions had their way all day on Sunday.

Week 4's Other Standouts

Laiatu Latu, Indianapolis Colts

The pass rushers had a great game on both sides of the Rams versus Colts clash. Aside from Jared Verse, Laiatu Latu showed that he’s another young player who will be amongst the names that I am shouting out each week for a long time. Verse and Latu came out in the same draft and were vying for the honour of being the first edge rusher off the board, so their careers will always be compared. As Verse was cranking up the pressure on Daniel Jones, Latu was going further on Matthew Stafford, registering 9 pressures, with an eye-popping 44.4% pass rush win rate in true pass sets.

Abdul Carter, New York Giants

The New York Giants have an embarrassment of riches along the defensive line with four first-round picks starting on their front. Carter was the latest addition to that front in April’s draft, and he has had a fantastic start to his career in New York. Carter has 19 pressures so far this season, eight of which came in Sunday’s win against the Chargers. Those eight pressures came alongside a 25% pressure rate as the Giants’ defensive line ran riot against a banged-up offensive line. 

Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns are also a problem and will continue to give offenses headaches throughout the season. I wanted to spotlight Carter, but it’d be a mistake not to mention the whole group.

The whole group also includes one of the most special and unique players in the league – Dexter Lawrence. Lawrence also had a super-impactful game on Sunday, and he was a Justin Herbert chase down from an unbelievable thicc-six. 

Nick Herbig, Pittsburgh Steelers

Herbig isn’t the biggest name on the Steelers’ defensive front; he’s probably not even in the top three, but he put on a show for the fans in Ireland on Sunday afternoon.

In relief of Alex Highsmith, Herbig registered a sack and a half in the Steelers’ closely fought win, and continued to put pressure on Carson Wentz all through the game. It’s not his only notable stat line of the year so far, either. One to watch in the coming weeks.

Looking Ahead to Week 5

Dorance Armstrong, Washington Commanders (vs. Chargers)

Armstrong has been a solid contributor throughout his career in both Dallas and Washington, without ever being a star piece. Now a starter opposite Von Miller in D.C., he’s got a chance to put up bigger numbers than he ever has, none more so than in games against beat-up offensive lines like the Chargers.

Armstrong has three sacks in four games so far this year, and will be looking to add to his total this weekend against backup tackles, whether that be the experienced Trey Pipkins, or now-left-tackle Austin Deculus.

The Bolts will be looking for a bounce back from their unit, with Justin Herbert having suffered 26 hits in the past two weeks across games against the Broncos and Giants. Whilst Washington doesn’t have the quality in the defensive line to match those two teams, Armstrong is still in a good position to cash in against this level of competition.

Uchenna Nwosu, Seattle Seahawks (vs. Buccaneers)

The offensive line is a position of attrition. Every team in the league, or at least the serious ones, spends all offseason worrying about depth across the position group and trying to build out depth as best they can.

Much like the Chargers, the Bucs are feeling that attrition much earlier in the season than they would have hoped. Cody Mauch and Luke Goedeke are on IR, and even coming into the season, star tackle Tristan Wirfs had health concerns.

The Seahawks have a fierce defensive line, and whilst it lacks a star, it certainly has depth. Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy, DeMarcus Lawrence, Derick Hall, Boye Mafe, and Uchenna Nwosu are all capable of getting to the QB, and they’ve shown that so far this season with 14 sacks across their four games so far. It’s a versatile group, with a number of the guys I’ve just listed capable of moving around the formation.

Nwosu will be looking to build upon a strong start to the season. The former Charger has a couple of sacks and is winning on 21.3% of his rushes.

Jalen Pitrie, Houston Texans (vs. Ravens)

Obviously, I spend a lot of time talking about edge rushers and interior defensive linemen when putting together these articles, which is completely natural when discussing and analysing getting pressure on the quarterback. I want to take a moment to give a shout-out to a defensive back in Jalen Pitrie, someone who is being asked to rush the passer around 15% of his snaps.

Pitrie is playing in an aggressive defensive unit, which is called by a play-caller in DeMeco Ryans, who loves to crank up the pressure by sending bodies from all angles, and he is making his coach right at a good rate.

Pitie leads the league in pressures from defensive backs with six so far, and with their first win in the bag, the Texans will be looking to pour more misery on Lamar Jackson and the Ravens in their next game.

Lee Wakefield

NFL Content Lead

Lee Wakefield IS A defensive line enthusiast, Chargers Sufferer, and LONG-TIME writer and podcaster with a number of publications. @Wakefield90 on twitter/X.