Steelers' Cameron Heyward Wants Pettiness To End And Brings Clarity To Earlier Accusations: "I'm A Grown Man"

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost three games in 10 days to three of the best teams in the league: the Baltimore Ravens, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Kansas City Chiefs. That led to many people voicing their frustrations. The players were unhappy, particularly on defense. Patrick Queen said this is the part of the season where they are meant to be ascending, not descending, and playing as a team. Team captain Cameron Heyward echoed similar sentiments, but his wording got a much stronger reaction. 

Heyward said after the Chiefs loss, "When 10 guys do their job and one guy doesn't, we are screwed." Everyone assumed that the outspoken players were referring to one specific teammate. Longtime Steelers reporter Mark Kaboly said in multiple interviews that it was like the players stopped short of naming names. 

He is now clearing the air, saying he wasn't pointing a finger at one person. On his podcast, Not Just Football With Cam Heyward, his co-host Hayden Walsh asked him about the viral quote.  

"Guys, I did not mean someone in particular," explained Heyward. "When I refer to this, I learned this from Coach [Dick] LeBeau over the years; it's about 11 guys doing their jobs. All I was saying is when you don't have 11 guys doing their jobs, and one guy doesn't, or two guys, or three guys, or four, you name it. But when you don't have everybody doing their jobs, you're putting yourself at the risk of the offense."

After the game, Head Coach Mike Tomlin defended his players. He has been known to say he would "rather say 'whoa' than 'sic 'em.'" Tomlin told the media the players are upset because they care.

Heyward said he wouldn't ever blame a single teammate because football is a team sport. He said even he had a part to play as there were blocks he'd wished he'd gotten off faster. In his mind, if anyone is satisfied with how they performed in a loss, that is the problem. The Pro Bowler said they all have to take accountability for the losses and grow from what they learn.  

"To think I would zero down on one person, say, 'Hey, you're not doing your job,' and I'm going to use the media to do that," added Heyward. "I am a grown man; if I have a problem with somebody, I'm going to go talk to him, and I'm probably talking to him on the field. We don't have this thing where I'm trying to put somebody in a position where they got to answer questions. That's not fair. Yeah we lost, and it sucks, but it's a group effort, it's a team effort. I think we got to get past being petty and trying to put it on one guy. Because if you're a fan, you're a fan of everybody on the team. If you're a teammate, you're a teammate to everybody on our team."

Some felt Heyward's remarks were directed toward Minkah Fitzpatrick or Cam Sutton, but the veteran said that is false. Some local media outlets felt there was a communication breakdown and that everyone was trying to play "hero ball," rather than just doing their part. 

Heyward said they are looking forward to the upcoming game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The team needs to return to fundamentals, and Heyward expects to return to where they were earlier this season, bringing pressure and causing turnovers. 

Steelers Owed Recent Break

DeShon Elliott was outspoken about his displeasure with the league scheduling the Steelers for three games in 10 days. He said that it feels like the NFL hates Pittsburgh. Which is why he felt they owed the team a mini-bye week before Week 18.

While other teams, like the Ravens and Chiefs, also played the same compressed schedule, it was against lower-caliber teams. To Elliott, that was proof the league screwed the Steelers.

Do you believe that Heyward didn't mean anyone specific when he made the comment? Click to comment below. 

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