Pittsburgh Steelers star Cameron Heyward isn't afraid to challenge his veteran teammates when he sees a defensive unit that isn't playing up to its standards.
"Anything I'd say to you, I'd say to them first," Heyward said Thursday, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "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 comments came after Heyward openly critiqued his team's play following last week’s loss to Green Bay, noting he didn't believe they handled adversity well. The 15-year vet isn't worried about how his comments are taken by fans or media. And after all these years, he's certainly not fretting about being a target for criticism.
"I don't worry about it," Heyward said. "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."
Heyward is one of the few Steelers defenders playing up to his reputation. He generated a season-high seven tackles in Sunday's loss. Pro Football Focus ranks him as their No. 1 overall interior defender through eight weeks.
However, the situation around him is deteriorating.
Pittsburgh is allowing 386.0 total yards per game (30th in the NFL) and 25.0 points per game (22nd). They're on pace to allow the most yards per game in a single season in Steelers franchise history and the most points since 1988.
With the pass rush not getting home and the older secondary not holding up, the Steelers are allowing 273.3 pass yards per game, currently the worst in the NFL and on pace for most in Pittsburgh history.
The Steelers have allowed more than 30 points in each of their last two games -- they had two such games in all of 2024. They've allowed more than 30 points in four games already this season, tied for second-most in a season under Mike Tomlin. The most 30-point games allowed by a Tomlin-led team were five in 2013, when Pittsburgh went 8-8 and missed the playoffs.
Making matters more difficult for an aging defense trying to turn things around: They welcome the Indianapolis Colts and the NFL's No. 1 offense to Pittsburgh on Sunday. Shutting down Daniel Jones, Jonathan Taylor, et al., will be a yeoman's task for a crew that's struggled.
"I'm not going to shy away from it," Heyward said of the defensive struggles. "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."
