They might not have a cool nickname like “Quiver and Quake” from the 1990s in reference to standout pass rushers Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene on the Blitzburgh defense, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the duo of T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward for the Pittsburgh Steelers is one of the best in football on the defensive side of the ball.
Watt, the 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and Heyward, a multi-time first-team All-Pro player, were highlighted by CBS Sports as the Steelers’ “dynamic duo” Tuesday, edging out the likes of Watt and Alex Highsmith, and Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick.
“While Pittsburgh found a gem in Alex Highsmith last season, Watt and Heyward remain the pair that makes that defense go. Watt had a career low in sacks (5.5), pressures (31), quarterback hits (12) and pressure rate (11.1%), but only played 10 games due to a torn pectoral muscle. When Watt was on the field, the Steelers defense allowed 16.9 points per game and had 3.2 sacks per game (8-1 record). Without Watt, it allowed 25.3 points and had just 1.1 sacks (1-6 record),” CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr writes Tuesday morning regarding the Steelers’ dynamic duo. “Heyward had another strong season at defensive tackle, this time without Watt playing the majority of the games. He finished with 58 pressures, 22 quarterback hits and 10.5 sacks while making his sixth consecutive Pro Bowl selection. The Steelers are elite when Watt is on the field, but they still have one of the best pass-rushing interior linemen in Heyward. There’s a reason why Pittsburgh is the only team with 300-plus sacks since Watt entered the league in 2017.”
While it was surprising to see Heyward’s name listed instead of Highsmith, Kerr’s rationale makes complete sense.
Heyward’s strung together back-to-back double-digit sack seasons and has 78.5 for his career. While Watt and Highsmith generate pressure from the outside, Heyward is an interior pass rusher, making the duo of him and Watt that much more dangerous as it leads to pressure from multiple directions and makes it harder for a quarterback to escape.
Heyward is as dominant a defensive lineman as there is in the NFL. Even as he gets older and is on the back nine of his career, Heyward somehow continues to get better and better and is coming off of two straight 10+ sack seasons for the Black and Gold.
He’s a perennial All-Pro and Pro Bowler, the face of the Steelers and is also quietly putting together a Hall of Fame resume in the trenches.
When Watt was healthy last season, Pittsburgh was 8-2. Without him, they were 1-6. He is the straw that stirs the drink in Pittsburgh, and rightfully so.
