The Pittsburgh Steelers have one of the most feared defenses in the NFL, despite the horrific late-season collapse from the unit at the end of the 2024 season. The defense is anchored by the front, and that group is led by veteran Cam Heyward. He has been one of the best interior defensive linemen throughout the last decade. People love to talk about Aaron Donald or Chris Jones, but Heyward has been dominant throughout the majority of his career as well.
The Pivot Podcast
Steelers' Cam Heyward speaking on The Pivot Podcast with his former teammate Ryan Clark.
Heyward had one of the best seasons of his career in 2024, which resulted in him being named First Team All-Pro. He was highly doubted heading into the year after making it clear he wanted an extension, especially since 2023 was rough for Heyward due to injuries. He proved all the doubters wrong in 2024 as he recorded eight sacks, one of which coming against the Las Vegas Raiders. He beat a rookie center in Jackson Powers-Johnson for that sack, and Powers-Johnson recently expressed his desire to exact revenge on Heyward for the play.
Powers-Johnson recently shared that the moment with Heyward "welcomed" him to the league, but he also called Heyward out a bit and discussed playing the veteran again. The Pittsburgh defensive lineman responded on the most recent episode of Not Just Football With Cam Heyward.
"Hey man, I was close a lot of times. I just, you know, I delivered the baby at that moment," Heyward said. "I don't remember what I said. You know, I tend to black out in those moments, but that wasn't the only time he got beat. I'm gonna be honest. And I'm gonna be honest, too, this is the other thing. He's saying this, and we don't even have him scheduled this year. That's kind of funny. So now you're talking stuff when you had all this time to even bring this up."
The defensive lineman clearly was not a fan of the comments made by the young player, and he made sure to call him out on it. Powers-Johnson wants to see Heyward again, but the defender made it clear that they are not on each other's schedule for the 2025 season. Heyward is only under contract through the 2026 season as retirement seems to be around the corner, so there is a real chance the two never step on a field together again.
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Former Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson celebrates after a play during his college career.
The only way for the Steelers and Raiders to play in the 2025 season would be if they met up in the playoffs. It is hard to imagine that both teams would make the postseason, and if they did, they would both likely be Wild Card teams. That means a playoff matchup would involve each organization winning a postseason game, and that just seems unrealistic. Powers-Johnson's only hope for taking on Heyward one more time is probably going to come down to the 2026 season.
Steelers Have A Positional Rivalry With The Raiders
Going into the 2024 NFL Draft, Pittsburgh needed a center. It was obvious the organization was going to use one of its first two picks on the position, but it was unclear which player it would be. Zach Frazier's name was always brought up, but so was Powers-Johnson's. Now, there is a sort of positional-rivalry between the two organizations, and players. It is similar, but not on the same level as what the Steelers and TJ Watt have with the Cleveland Browns and Myles Garrett.
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Steelers' TJ Watt meets with Browns' Myles Garrett after a game.
Frazier had an amazing rookie year in 2024, but Powers-Johnson was not bad either. Both players seem like they will be the centers for their respective teams for quite some time, and it will be interesting to follow both of their careers as they continue.
What do you think about Heyward's response to Powers-Johnson? Let us know in the comments below!
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