Steelers' Cameron Heyward Clears Up A Funny Joey Porter Jr Misconception In Paris

The Pittsburgh Steelers had no shortage of souvenirs to bring home from Paris, but their defensive captain found something that wouldn't be available in any gift shop. A few late-game plays gave him an excuse to join in on a habit that's been spreading around the locker room. There was just one misconception he wanted to clear up before anybody started handing out credit.

Cameron Heyward joined Pittsburgh's defensive backs in celebrating a batted pass during Sunday's 16-10 win over the New Orleans Saints, then offered a playful correction afterward. The celebration might remind fans of former Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr., but Heyward insisted the entire secondary has been doing it. Apparently, Pittsburgh's defensive linemen have decided they deserve a piece of the action, too.

They had plenty of justification Sunday. The Saints were trying to get one final possession moving late in the fourth quarter when Yahya Black knocked down a pass from quarterback Tyler Shough. Heyward followed with another deflection on second down, and linebacker Patrick Queen finished the series by sacking Shough on third. Three snaps, zero yards and a punt. That's the sort of sequence that earns a little theater.

Asked about his celebration during his postgame media availability, Heyward explained that the move had spread beyond any one cornerback. His answer sounded like a veteran who saw the defensive backs having fun and decided the guys doing the dirty work up front shouldn't be excluded.

“That's all the DBs [are] doing. I know everybody thinks this JPJ thing, but like all that, we just want to get on it… Here's a chance to celebrate a little bit over [in] France,” Heyward said.

Porter's name makes the clarification especially amusing. Pittsburgh traded the cornerback to the Dallas Cowboys on October 1, ending a lengthy contract dispute and forcing the secondary to move forward without him. Yet the celebration has remained part of the defensive personality. Heyward wasn't dismissing his former teammate's flair. He was making a simpler point: the routine belongs to more people than the guy fans associate with it.

There's something satisfying about seeing the celebration migrate from the perimeter to the trenches. A cornerback breaks up a pass by staying attached to his receiver and attacking the catch point. A defensive tackle has a less glamorous route to the same result. He has to fight through a blocker, recognize the throw and get a hand into the passing lane without surrendering his gap.

Pittsburgh got contributions from more than one enormous pass defender. Keeanu Benton also knocked down a throw against New Orleans. Black's knack for batting passes was drawing attention during his 2025 training camp. By now, watching these linemen get their hands on the football is considerably less surprising than watching some quarterbacks continue throwing directly over them.

The big men rarely get the isolated camera angles, dramatic leaps or sideline applause that cornerbacks enjoy. Heyward spends much of his afternoon wrestling with blockers who would prefer he never appear in a highlight package. When the ball finally lands at his feet, he has every right to borrow a celebration. He did some of the least glamorous work on the field to earn it.

The defensive effort also needs perspective. Shough completed 30 of 38 passes for 278 yards, so this wasn't an afternoon when Pittsburgh erased the Saints' passing attack. New Orleans moved the ball and made the Steelers work. Pittsburgh shut down the run, allowing just 18 yards on 17 carries, and produced critical stops when the game was available for either side to steal.

Linebacker Payton Wilson delivered the biggest defensive highlight by intercepting Shough near the goal line in the third quarter, ending a drive that threatened to put New Orleans ahead. The Steelers didn't allow another point after halftime. By the fourth quarter, the defensive front was completing the job by taking away passing lanes as effectively as it had taken away rushing lanes.

A batted pass doesn't earn a lineman a sack, and a disrupted throw rarely gets the same attention as an interception. But an incompletion can force an offense into an obvious passing down, giving the coordinator room to attack. Black and Heyward put Shough in that position. Queen supplied the finishing blow, and the Saints never saw the ball again.

The celebration isn't some profound tactical innovation, and nobody needs to pretend it won the game. It does reveal a locker room willing to share some personality across position groups. Jalen Ramsey, Jaquan Brisker and the rest of the defensive backs have their own responsibilities, but Heyward's joke makes clear the fun isn't restricted to one corner of the meeting room.

Steelers Have Every Reason To Let The Big Men Celebrate

Frankly, the defensive linemen earned the celebration as much as anybody Sunday. When multiple players up front are knocking passes down and the offense across from them is averaging barely a yard per rush, they can enjoy themselves. The defensive backs can argue about who started the routine; the front has every right to keep it going.

Pittsburgh heads home at 5-2 with three consecutive victories and another international win. The tougher tests won't be decided by what the defense does after the whistle, and there's pass-coverage film that needs cleaning up. But the Steelers have something worth protecting in the energy that followed those late deflections. If the linemen keep batting balls down, expect Heyward to keep celebrating like he belongs in the secondary. Somebody might have to tell the defensive backs they're sharing the dance floor.

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