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Steelers DT Cameron Heyward: Defense’s Issues Are ‘Like Popcorn’
The Steelers defense has struggled during their three-game losing streak, but DT Cameron Heyward thinks they may have the answer.
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin called a post-Christmas team meeting with the hopes of working through the defense’s recent struggles. Over the last three weeks, the Steelers have been outscored 40-90.
Only time will tell if the team meeting will pay off, but defensive tackle Cameron Heyward thinks they may have an answer for the unit’s issues.
“Mike T always says it’s like popcorn. It’s a little bit here. It’s a little bit there,” Heyward said. “I think sometimes guys were overplaying situations. Sometimes there’d be a check where not everybody got it. Sometimes just the alignment alone puts you in that type of tough situation, but hopefully we cleaned it up. A lot of good conversations but we won’t know until Saturday.”
The Steelers need to hope that their adjustments work with a primetime rematch against the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday night. Quarterback Joe Burrow is red-hot, throwing for a league-leading 4,641 yards and 42 touchdowns.
Pittsburgh was able to escape Cincinnati in Week 13 with a win, but the defense wasn’t able to slow down Burrow then, either, as he threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns in the 44-38 conclusion.
Heyward knows his defense must be better this time if the Steelers hope to get back in the win column.
“He was on a heater when he played us. It’s not like they didn’t score 30 points,” Heyward said. “I have a lot of respect for what they do on offense. They’re able to get up and down the field. He’s feeding those two beasts in (Tee) Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase. We have to force them into situations where they have to take risks or we can get turnovers or get sacks. It’s a full-time job covering those guys.”
There is a chance the game doesn’t mean very much come kickoff, though. If the Baltimore Ravens defeat the Cleveland Browns on Saturday, they’ll win the AFC North, locking in the Steelers as a wild-card team.
That, of course, would lead to the Steelers having to decide whether or not to sit their starters. Tomlin shut down that idea on Monday and Heyward reiterated just that on Tuesday.
“No. For me, and I think for a lot of guys in here, hopefully the whole team, it’s about just playing good ball and we got to get back on good footing,” Heyward said. “We can control what we can control. I think going forward, ball just needs to be played the right way and it doesn’t matter what happens outside of our stadium.”
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