The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Cam Heyward with the 31st pick in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft shortly after they lost their last Super Bowl appearance to the Green Bay Packers. After two seasons as a backup, he broke into the starting lineup in 2013 and when healthy, he has been a starter and one of the team leaders ever since. Heyward joined the 3 and Out with John Middlekauff podcast recently to discuss his career and his quest for an elusive championship. You can watch the entire interview here.
Credit: Jeffrey Becker/USA TODAY Sports
Middlekauff asked about some of the closest calls in the AFC playoffs and Heyward recalled:
“[20]15 because '15, we went to Denver and then we fumbled the ball on one of the last possessions and then Peyton [Manning] came down and scored. 2016 was when we went to the conference championship versus New England. Yeah, and Le’Veon [Bell] got hurt, I think the first series of the game against the Patriots. And obviously, he was kind of the straw that stirred the drink on that squad beside the defense.”
The 2015 loss to the Denver Broncos in the divisional round was particularly painful as the Steelers appeared to be on fire after beating the Cincinnati Bengals a week earlier in one of the most bizarre playoff games in recent memory, 18-16. However, they lost Antonio Brown and were forced to play Fitzgerald Toussaint as well, the Steelers third string running back whose late fumble allowed a limited Manning to lead a short drive that put the Broncos ahead for good, 20-13.
Pittsburgh Steelers running back, Le'Veon Bell (26) rushes the ball as New England Patriots defensive end, Jabaal Sheard (93) chases during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. | Charles LeClaire / USA Today Sports
It is interesting that Heyward names the 2016 AFC Championship game that the Steelers lost, because Heyward tore his pectoral muscle and missed the second half of the season and the playoffs that year. It is the only significant time he has lost to injury in his stellar NFL career. Pittsburgh again had a dominant team, but after a team playoff record in ironically another 18-16 victory, the loss of Bell was too much for the Steelers to overcome and they lost to the New England Patriots.
"You have played on teams that same in college. I mean, you've been right there.” Middlekauff asks, “To be a champion, to be a Super Bowl champion, is that something just kind of, you're a pretty high-level motivated guy anyway, but is that kind of an easy thing to just think about? Like, I haven't got over the mountaintop yet?”
Heyward played for a National Championship with the Ohio State Buckeyes in his freshman year against the LSU Tigers in the BCS Championship game in New Orleans, LA at the Superdome. OSU lost to LSU, 38-24, and they did not make it back to the championship game during Heyward’s remaining three years. The three-time All-Pro replied:
"College, freshman year, starting National Championship and we tricked it off and did not win. And then all throughout there, I wish we had college playoffs back then because that would have been fun to be a part of. We ended up going to the Sugar Bowl my senior year we won versus Arkansas, but never got to play a National Championship again."
Heyward and the Steelers have never had a losing season during his tenure with the team. He has played in seven playoff games for the black and gold and he only has one playoff victory to show for it. The five-time Pro Bowler is often tapped as the closest thing to a throwback the current Steelers have on their roster, but a 1-6 playoff record for a dominant defender in Pittsburgh is almost unfathomable. Heyward concludes his thought:
“It honestly is because I've been so close and it's one or two plays to change it sometimes. But I feel like there's going to come a time where I get over this damn hump. Now I've been to the playoffs and all I want is the Super Bowl. All I want is a championship. That is the crowning moment I'm looking forward to.”
The Steelers defensive captain has three seasons remaining on his current contract and the team is embarking on a new journey without the services of Ben Roethlisberger. The defense and Heyward are going to be the driving force if in fact the Super Bowl window is going to open before his contract expires. The team currently leads the NFL in defensive spending, and they are relying on that side of the ball.
The Pittsburgh Steelers defense first formula has captured three of the four Super Bowls where they were relied upon to win games and set up what were considered 'weaker' offenses. Super Bowl IX and X may be the most dominant games ever played by a defensive unit in the big game. In Super Bowl XXX, the defense could not overcome turnovers and lost to the Dallas Cowboys. Super Bowl XL saw Bill Cowher resort to trickery and lean heavily on a stifling defense to finally deliver "one for the thumb" against the Seattle Seahawks.
L.C. Greenwood tackling Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach in 1979.Credit...Associated Press
The formula has worked before. Dominant young running back, and elite defense warms the heart of the Pittsburgh faithful. The Terry Bradshaw and Roethlisberger dominated Super Bowls were nice, but L.C. Greenwood sacking Roger Staubach four times in Super Bowl X and Franco Harris running over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX just felt better. But then again, I am old school. Okay, okay I may be just old.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Do you long for the days when the Steel Curtain fell hard on the NFL? Or do you want to see Acrisure Stadium’s air filled with footballs this fall? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
