Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward made his return to play in Week Nine against the Tennessee Titans after spending seven weeks on the reserve/injured list following a groin injury in Week One that required surgery. At age 34, returning in the same season you have surgery sounds a bit daunting, but Heyward picked up where he left off.
He played a little over 55 percent of the snaps with 41 defensive snaps taken. That is less than his normal workload, but more than Heyward admitted he was expecting. Still, he was an important part of the overall effort to hold Derrick Henry to just 75 yards rushing.
Head coach Mike Tomlin pointed to Heyward’s return as significant component of this defense, particularly when it comes to stopping the run.
THE FILM
Heyward got involved on the first defensive play of the game for the Steelers. Aligned head up on the tight end, Heyward was engaged by two blockers and initially loses his leverage getting stood up, but he managed to kick his feet back and re-anchor to limit the Henry run to just one yard.
Another solid run stuff for Heyward here. He engages with LT Andre Dillard, establishes a long arm to buy himself space and free up his inside hand to crash down on the gap and stop RB Tyjae Spears for a gain of three. The guard had worked his way to the second level to take Cole Holcomb out of the play, so without Heyward’s efforts this could have gone for several more yards with a sizeable hole that briefly opened up. This was a direct snap to Henry, so the eye discipline and gap integrity are important with a number of ways this play could have gone.
Heyward is known for his bull rush and being able to generate power, but on this play he shows off some finesse. His initial step is inside before he clubs the defenders and swims back outside. This forces Henry to bend it back the other direction which ultimately resulted in TE Chigoziem Okonkwo holding TJ Watt to negate the nine yard gain.
On this play, Heyward gets some great push against rookie first round draft pick Peter Skoronski to help collapse the pocket. When he is finally anchored on, Heyward throws both hands in the air to try and affect throwing lanes which caused QB Will Levis to spin out of the pocket and throw the ball away. Guards are responsible for the depth of the pocket while tackles are responsible for the width. In this case, Heyward drove Skoronski back over five yards to help force the throwaway.
One of Heyward’s best plays of the game was recognizing a screen play and making the tackle for a loss of eight yards. It was 3rd and 7 just outside of the red zone and Heyward was aligned as the three-tech on the right side of the defense. He crossed Skoronski’s face and crashed down with a rip move before sniffing out the screen and making the stop. Larry Ogunjobi also influenced the play, but Spears is dynamic with the ball in his hands and could have found a seam to convert the third down play if not for Heyward.
On the final play of this film room, Heyward executes a twist stunt with Watt. Heyward crashes down while Watt twists outside. Heyward makes quick work of Skoronski with his power crashing inside and engages with center Aaron Brewer. He uses his momentum to drive Brewer back before shedding the block and getting his arm up in the way of Levis’ throw. It looks to me like Heyward may have gotten a finger on it as the ball comes out wobbly and slightly off target to DeAndre Hopkins over the middle.
CONCLUSION
Cameron Heyward’s return was very timely going up a physical running team like the Titans. He was part of a front seven that limited one of the top running backs in the league, Derrick Henry, to just 75 yards. While he didn’t light up the stat sheet, six tackles is a signficant amount for only playing 55% of the team’s defensive snaps. He provides a lot of tangible benefits to the defense with his physical play and run-stopping ability, but he also provides some intangibles like leadership and veteran savvy to recognize plays like he did when sniffing out that screen pass for a huge loss of yardage. As he rounds back into football shape and trusts his groin a little more, Heyward’s presence will be just the medicine the doctor ordered to shore up the run defense.
