Steelers' Cameron Heyward Gets Honest About Poor Defensive Performance In Recent Weeks

The Pittsburgh Steelers have gotten a quality chance to fix a bunch of their issues internally with this extended break after their Thursday Night Football loss to the Cleveland Browns. Even with two wins in the fold, this team is still very far from where it wants to be, as it has problems in nearly every facet that is holding it back from being a true playoff contender. The house is far from clean, as Head Coach Mike McCarthy recently said, and there is a lot that needs to be fixed in a short amount of time. 

While some fans took that "clean house" statement the wrong way, the players have assured everyone that it is just a metaphor for all the problems that the team has. If these messes don't get cleaned up quickly, the Indianapolis Colts will leave Acrisure Stadium with a win with the Steelers being put at risk to have their first losing season in over two decades.

Defensive tackle Cameron Heyward knows that the house is far from clean as well. While making an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, he explained some of the messes that have been plaguing the defense in recent weeks, especially against the Browns.

"We have a lot of self-inflicted wounds, whether it's penalties, missed tackles, stuff like that that can be changed on our side of the ball, or our side of the game..." Heyward explained. "I think we had some critical penalties. The tackling was atrocious on our side of the ball, and that needs to be cleaned up now."

Heyward is completely right about the tackling problem. The Steelers are tied for sixth worst in missed tackle rate through the first four weeks of 2026. The defense can't be strong and physical when they allow opposing offenses to just bully them in the trenches and in the open field. Pittsburgh needs to spend a lot of time going over the fundamentals in that regard just to reset and get back to clean football. 

Even with this upcoming stretch being seen as the "easy" portion of Pittsburgh's schedule, they still have to go against plenty of dynamic playmakers that can and will take advantage of poor tackling. If the Steelers are not careful, the season can get out of hand real quick. That's why this mini-bye week is so important for the future of the team; there's more time to clean the house and go on a nice little winning streak. 

It's never a good sign when defenders are being accused of making "business decisions" with how much they're getting dominated by the opposition. If anything, these accusations should help players like Patrick Queen work harder to prove that they care about doing things the right way and not just stepping onto the field to collect a paycheck. He needs to show that he wants to be out there and make plays.

Steelers' Other Issue Is Not As Bad As It Seems

While Heyward brought up penalties as a problem, that doesn't seem to be the case overall. Through four weeks, the team has only committed 10 defensive penalties, which is a good sign, especially since the NFL has seen a record number of flags and penalty yards through the first four weeks of the season. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has managed to avoid them for the most part. 

The Steelers were called for eight accepted penalties against the Browns, so while that is a problem, this feels more like a one-off than a recurring problem. It's likely an issue that was addressed but pushed to the side as they worked on bigger issues like communication and tackling. There are far worse messes in the house than flags in a time frame where officials can't stop throwing flags.

What do you think about Heyward's take on the state of the defense? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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