Pittsburgh Steelers Steelers Gameday
Flu Game: Steelers Cam Heyward Battles Illness, Burrow vs. Bengals
PITTSBURGH — Cam Heyward plopped down on a foldable chair, in front of a pair of microphones, and looked at a few rows of reporters waiting to listen to him after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 19-17 Saturday night loss to Cincinnati.
When he spoke, however, his voice was gravelly, and not as booming as usual. A black beanie was pulled to his eyebrows. At one point, as he listened to a question, he leaned into his right hand and coughed.
It could have understandably just been because of the cold air he’d been puffing in during the course of the night. It wasn’t just the winter weather, though.
“I have the flu,” Heyward said when asked about his health near the end of availability. “It started last night and I’ve just been dealing with it.”
The virus-ridden Cam Heyward notched only one tackle on the night, his fewest in any game this season. He pawed away three passes — a single-game career-high and the most by any NFL defensive lineman this season — as he and his teammates had tried all night to get after Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. They got to him four times. Most others, he found an uncovered receiver, going 37 for 46 for 277 yards and a touchdown toss to Ja’Marr Chase.
At one point, Burrow kept on the ground after being snowed under, but returned after being examined for any head injury. His unrelenting completions helped dish the Steelers their fourth consecutive loss. They haven’t led in any of those contests. Gaining momentum with so little time to do so — and the stage of the postseason next up — seems a tough task.
“I’m confident,” Heyward said with a half-laugh, dropping a hint as to his condition by clarifying why he wasn’t particularly pounding the table. “I’m sorry I don’t have the energy behind this, but I’m very confident in the group. As a professional, you work your ass off to be ready week in and week out. You have belief in the group, and that’s all that matters.”
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