As we do every week to get you ready for the upcoming game, our X factor of the week. Sometimes, it’s a player, unit, concept, or scheme. Here’s our X factor for Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills.
X FACTOR: DT Cam Heyward
Plenty of options here for this Wild Card X factor. Heyward’s selection is one part poetic, one part tactical. Poetically, there’s no one who deserves a playoff win more than Heyward. He has one under his belt but just one, coming way back in the 2015 Wild Card win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Over his career, he’s 1-6 in the postseason. Not his fault, of course, one piece in the cog that is a football game, but it’s an ugly number that leaves out part of what a great Pittsburgh Steeler’s legacy is supposed to be. Playoff wins, Super Bowl trophies. The odds of hoisting a Lombardi by the end of this year are slim but this could be one of Heyward’s final chances, or final chance, to give it a shot.
Turning 35 in May, Heyward’s time in the NFL is limited. He can still play, and he looks healthier than he did after coming back from his groin injury, but it’s not even guaranteed he’ll return for 2025. That’s the most likely outcome but Heyward will probably offer up an answer of uncertainty when asked about it after the Steelers’ season ends, tracking with what he’s said in the past. Going out with a loss and one career playoff win will be a small mark on an otherwise fantastic career. It just wouldn’t feel right.
Schematically, Heyward’s impact is critical. Especially without T.J. Watt, the Steelers need others who can rush the passer. Pushing and collapsing the pocket is a great way to fluster QB Josh Allen and force him to roll him into the Steelers’ outside linebackers, guys like Nick Herbig and Markus Golden taking Watt’s place. Watching the Bills, they were weaker down the middle than at tackle, and Heyward has a winnable matchup versus LG Connor McGovern. If the defense uses more stunts and twists to manufacture pressure, Heyward will be key in getting Alex Highsmith/the looper free into the A gap as well as preventing Allen from gaining the outside.
Since returning to the lineup, Heyward’s run defense has been its usual solid self. That’s not a concern. But his pass rush hasn’t been as effective. Again, better than his Week 9 comeback and he had a good rush last week ripping through the Ravens’ left guard but his patented bull rush/long-arm hasn’t been as noticeable on tape. This is the week he’s gotta bring it. Dig that cleat into the ground and fire off the ball with all he’s got. That’s how the Steelers will get to Allen. That’s how they’ll win this game.
