Steelers captain Cameron Heyward defends criticism of defensive play after successive losses

As a captain of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense, a title he has held for 11 consecutive seasons, Cameron Heyward isn’t afraid to speak his mind when his group underperforms.

Such dissatisfaction was on display Sunday when Heyward said the Steelers didn’t handle adversity well and didn’t show enough fight during the second half of a 35-25 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Heyward wasn’t concerned about how his words would be construed by the fans, social media trolls or NFL television analysts. He also wasn’t afraid he might upset members of the Steelers locker room.

“Anything I’d say to you, I’d say to them first,” Heyward said Thursday. “I just think we all have to get better. I challenge everybody, and I challenge myself first and foremost. That’s the way I was raised. You can’t look at anybody else. You have to look at yourself. The way to get this bad taste out of our mouth is to play better football.”

The Steelers yielded 454 yards to the Packers, including 289 in the second half when Green Bay scored 28 points to overcome a 16-7 deficit. A week earlier, the Steelers gave up 470 yards to Cincinnati, marking the first time an opponent had totaled 400-plus yards in back-to-back games since the first three weeks of the 2019 season. The 924 yards were the most allowed in a two-game span since 1988.

The consecutive losses have dropped the Steelers’ record to 4-3, although they continue to hold a game-and-a-half lead for first place in the AFC North.

As the longest-tenured member of the team and a player who sought a new contract the past two offseasons, Heyward is a lightning rod for criticism.

“I don’t worry about it,” said Heyward, whose seven tackles against Green Bay were second on the team. “I’m worried about the guys in the room. I worry about attacking it, trying to get better. If I paid attention to all that, I would have too much on my plate. The goal is to win. I don’t care how it’s done. I take a lot of pride in what I do. Hopefully, everybody else does, too.”

Perhaps it wasn’t coincidence then that Heyward practiced Wednesday, the first day of the Steelers’ work week. It was just the second time this season he didn’t receive the veteran off-day treatment on a Wednesday from coach Mike Tomlin. Fellow captain T.J. Watt also practiced after being rested for the initial practice session of the previous six weeks.

In fact, it was the first time this season that no Steelers defensive player received a day off for rest purposes at the early portion of the week.

“I don’t know if it’s a message,” Heyward said. “Just trying to get better.”

Tomlin said Tuesday that he took no offense to Heyward’s criticism of the defense.

“Cam and I are usually aligned in terms of how we see things and what we need to do to push forward,” he said.

Although Tomlin didn’t rest any players Wednesday, he gave Heyward the day off Thursday. Watt, however, was a full practice participant and all other healthy defensive veterans practiced.

The Steelers have the NFL’s No. 30-ranked defense and are the worst team at defending the pass, so they might need all the practice time they can get considering the opponent looming Sunday. The Indianapolis Colts (7-1) will bring NFL’s highest-scoring offense to Acrisure Stadium. The Colts also have compiled the most yards in the NFL.

“It’s a new week, a new challenge,” Heyward said. “I don’t look at it as being in a tight spot now. I just think we’ve got to play better ball. These last two games haven’t been what we want. You have to be playing your best ball late in the season, and I think we’re climbing to that.”

Considering the team’s defensive rankings, the climb will be uphill as the second half of the schedule approaches. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin oversees a unit that is littered with veterans and is the highest paid in the NFL. He said Thursday that he’s continually making sure his message is getting relayed properly to the players.

“One thing you’ve gotta do is be steady,” Austin said. “The game always has ebbs and flows, and what you can’t do is ride the roller coaster of the game. As a coach and player, one thing you do is stay steady throughout.”

Austin also evaluates the playbook and schemes to make sure he isn’t asking his defensive players to do too much.

“Sometimes it means you cut some things back,” he said. “Sometimes it means you cut some things out. Sometimes there is no change at all. We look at everything.”

For his part, Heyward will continue to speak up post-game when the defense doesn’t meet expectations.

“I’m not going to shy away from it,” he said. “I think we have to play better ball. If we have a problem with it, let’s handle it on the field. Everybody has been open to me. I’m not running from it. Just know it’s coming from a good place, and I want our defense to be successful.”