When the Pittsburgh Steelers deploy their various subpackages on defense, Javon Hargrave is used to running off the field — not onto it.

With Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt acknowledged as the two most decorated pass rushers on the defensive line, Hargrave typically is the odd-man out when the Steelers bring extra defensive backs into the game.

But with Tuitt not traveling to Jacksonville last weekend because of a hyperextended elbow and the birth of his second child, Hargrave was asked to switch roles.

“One man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity,” coach Mike Tomlin said.

Suffice it to say, after getting the first multi-sack game of his career, Hargrave made the most of his..

His first of two sacks against Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles on a third-and-9 in the second quarter forced Jacksonville to settle for a field goal and a 9-0 lead. He also sacked Bortles again before the first half ended.

In the fourth quarter, Hargrave batted down a third-down pass, enabling the Steelers to get the ball back with 5 minutes, 6 seconds remaining and begin their comeback from a 16-6 deficit.

“It was some of my best moments,” Hargrave said with a smile.

More such moments could be in Hargrave’s future — even if Tuitt returns to play Sunday at the Denver Broncos.

“The more opportunities he gets, the more he’s got to be on the field,” Heyward said. “It’s not a disservice to me or Tuitt, but you can’t keep a guy like that (on the sideline), if he’s going to continue to ball out.”

Therein lies the issue for the Steelers. How do they fit three capable pass rushers into two spots when the Steelers go to the nickel, dime or quarter packages?

“I’d rather have that problem than others. We’ve got four guys who can start for a lot of teams, and I’m totally fine with that,” Heyward said, adding veteran Tyson Alualu to the mix. “Whoever is out there has to be putting on a show.”

Hargrave put on quite the show in college, collecting 200 tackles (62 for a loss), 37 sacks and five forced fumbles in four years and 47 games at South Carolina State, a Division I FCS school.

Because of Hargrave’s 6-foot-2, 305-pound frame and low center of gravity, the Steelers took him in the third round of the 2016 draft and plugged him into the center of their defensive line as a rookie.

“I never really viewed (myself) as a nose,” Hargrave said. “I always tell people I’m a defensive tackle. That’s just the position I am here. I don’t ever claim that, I just play on the D-line.”

The problem is, in the Steelers’ 3-4 scheme, the nose tackle is on the field for only about 30 percent of the defensive snaps, sometimes fewer. He played only 18 snaps in Week 9 at Baltimore. Against Jacksonville, with his role reversed, Hargrave was on the field for 51 snaps, a season high.

“I’ve been really open about challenging him in terms of being a sub-package contributor,” Tomlin said. “You don’t want to be pigeon-holed in this game. The more you can do.”

Hargrave’s role expanded in the second half of his rookie season when Heyward was lost for the season with a pectoral injury. But he continued to be lifted in favor of slot corner Mike Hilton in second season and much of his third.

“He’s grown in his role, and he’s continued to develop throughout his years here,” Heyward said. “I think with the more reps he’s getting now, he’s getting a chance to get more of a feel as a pass rusher. Sometimes, it might not be your first move or your second move. It could be your third move, but you understand how the offensive line is blocking you, and you don’t always get that as a rotational guy.

“When you’re in there more, you can feel the game and know how the offensive line wants to block you and what they are calling, and you can be a little bit more aggressive.”

With six games remaining, Hargrave has five sacks, which ranks third on the team behind Heyward’s 5 1/2 and T.J. Watt’s 10. That’s one more sack than Hargrave compiled in his first and second seasons combined.

In the Jacksonville game, Hargrave earned an elite grade from Pro Football Focus and had the highest ranking of any interior defensive lineman from Sunday’s games.

“He has produced at a high level,” Heyward said. “It’s not the first game he did that. It was the first game he got credited with two sacks. Dude can rush his tail off.”

The question is whether Hargrave’s role in the defense will expand regardless of Tuitt’s health situation. He is making a case that he’s deserving of more snaps.

“We all just want an opportunity to show what we’ve got,” Hargrave said. “That was a big one for me to be able to put that out there and show I can do something on subpackages. … I had chances, and I had a pretty good game. That’s all it was. Some was preparation. Some was luck. It was a good day for me.”

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Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe at jrutter@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tribjoerutter.

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