First Call: Steelers captain Cam Heyward not on board with ditching ‘Renegade’

“The jig is up. The news is out.”

“Renegade” is in a slump.

Last Sunday, the Buffalo Bills hit a 40-yard pass-play, and went on a game-altering fourth-quarter scoring drive after the videoboard crew played the Steelers’ noted pump-up song.

The Bills went so far as to practice with the music all week, and used it as motivation on the sideline, apparently determining that they would throw deep whenever the Steelers decided to play it coming out of a timeout.

Here’s what happened:

John. Brown. #BUFvsPIT | #GoBills pic.twitter.com/WjhqZ6atJj

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 16, 2019

After the game, the Bills said that “Renegade” now belonged to them, claiming it as their own.

According to The Athletic, maybe Steelers fans should let them keep it.

The website went so far as to track “Renegade’s” success rate. Here’s what it found.

“Eight games, eight Renegades, three scoring drives, 20 points, two turnovers on downs, a punt, a missed field goal and a sack/fumble. The first play after Renegade the past three games has resulted in a first down, and the previous two games saw 13 plays for 131 yards, a touchdown and a field goal.”

A mixed bag to say the least.

In recent days, social media and local talk shows have been dotted with fans saying it’s time to ditch the song.

But at least one Steeler says cut Styx some slack.

“Don’t blame it on ‘Renegade,’ ” defensive end Cameron Heyward said on WDVE this week. “We just didn’t get the job done. That’s how the cookie crumbles sometimes. It was a valiant effort. They just made more plays than we did.”

The defensive captain says blame the players, not the loudspeakers.

“It’s up to the players to get the job done. Music doesn’t get it done,” Heyward continued. “But I know the fans love that song. We’ve got to keep them happy.”

Heyward also blew off Buffalo’s attempt to commandeer the anthem.

“I don’t buy much into that. Baltimore has done that every year. I don’t play too much into the hoopla, the minutiae. You’ve got to make sure you take care of your business. They (Buffalo) came in and got five turnovers on defense. And on offense they got two red zone touchdowns,” he said.

Well, so long as the players aren’t jumping off the bandwagon, maybe the fans should hold tight and hope that Styx should “nevermore go astray.”

Elsewhere in the NFL for “First Call”:

• Two of the Jets’ good young defensive players are expected back on the field Sunday for the Steelers game after missing action. JetsWire.com has a practice update on Jamal Adams (ankle) and Quinnen Williams (neck).

• NFL.com’s Maurice Jones-Drew played the role of mouthpiece for Jets running back Le’Veon Bell during his free agency and “franchise tag” hold out. Now he is saying Bell is a good candidate for an offseason trade from New York.

• Kansas City coach Andy Reid is endorsing the acquisition of Terrell Suggs.

• Tom Coughlin has been fired as the Jacksonville Jaguars executive vice president of football operations.