Steelers' Cam Heyward Gives Clear Message To A Reporter About The Team's Adversity

In a classic snowy AFC North matchup, the Pittsburgh Steelers fell short to the Cleveland Browns 24-19 on the road. The Steelers' offense took a while to get going as their ability to close out drives with a touchdown continued to struggle. After two Chris Boswell field goals, the Steelers finally put up two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to take the lead 19-18. Things were looking up after a rough start, but the Browns eventually had the opportunity to take the lead and they did. After a failed hail mary attempt to end the game, the Steelers took the loss on Thursday Night Football.

The defense played a lot stronger in the second half after giving up a touchdown and some big plays. Pittsburgh recovered two fumbles and picked off Jameis Winston. However, when they needed to make a stop in the end to prevent the Browns from taking the lead, they couldn't get it done. 

Cam Heyward has had a solid season so far as he leads this defense as the veteran. He did have a little more of a quiet night against the Browns, but still deflected two passes and had a total of six tackles. Heyward was clearly frustrated with the loss during his postgame press conference, especially when a reporter stated it's been about a month since the team faced adversity. Heyward quickly shut that down.

"Wait we just had adversity last week. We just beat the Baltimore Ravens," Heyward said. "There's adversity every game. We just didn't win through the adversity. You know I think you can learn from wins, you can learn from losses. Adversity was displayed on both sides. Adversity was displayed almost every week. We just didn't make the critical plays when we needed to."

The Steelers did pull out a win in Week 11 against the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens have had a strong season so far and were in debates about being the best AFC team this season. That was quickly shut down by the Steelers, who held the Ravens to a season low of 16 points. 

The snow started to really fall down and stick to the ground in the second half. Players were getting caught up in the snow or couldn't see the ball through the mini blizzard. During the Browns' last drive, Joey Porter Jr. and Minkah Fitzpatrick got caught up in the snow on a crucial third down play where Jerry Jeudy got a first down. 

"It was a white out for the most part, but if I said it affected us, it's got to affect them too. So, I don't really think that played a part," Heyward said on the snowy weather.

Steelers players were asked going into this week about the Browns being a trap game. The Steelers have gone 1-4 in Cleveland since the end of the 2018 season. On top of that, the Steelers were coming off a gritty, close game against the Ravens and had to quickly turn it around and focus on the Browns. Now, they'll have an extended rest before another AFC North matchup.

Steelers' AFC North Battle Continues After 10-Day Rest

The Steelers' second half schedule is tough, especially with all of their AFC North games falling into this part of the schedule. Pittsburgh has gone 1-1 since the second half started and will travel to face the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13. Although the Bengals are 4-7, the Steelers won't let their record determine their game plan.

Joe Burrow has been great this season, along with his wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase. Chase is currently at 1,056 receiving yards on the season while Burrow has thrown for 3,028 yards. Pittsburgh's corners will have to try to limit Chase as he can destroy a defense with his talent.

The Steelers still sit at 8-3 and on top of the AFC North through 12 weeks. Pittsburgh has gone 2-1 in Cincinnati since 2021. The defense will have to step up and the offense will need to take advantage of the Bengals defense who have given up 3,910 yards this season.

What do you think of Heyward's remarks? Let us know in the comments below!

#Steelernation