Entering his 14th season in the NFL, Cameron Heyward has had the pleasure of sacking many quarterbacks. He currently has 80.5 career sacks, and he has sacked several all-time greats throughout his career. None sweeter to him than his sacks on QB Tom Brady.
Appearing on First We Feast’s Hot Ones, Heyward was asked by host Sean Evans which of his sacks are his all-time favorites. He named Brady.
“It was always fun to sack [Tom] Brady,” Heyward said. “Because Brady is gonna give it back. Talks a whole bunch, you’re gonna know when he’s up on the scoreboard. I think Brady is probably my favorite.”
Heyward’s first sack against Brady came in the 2013 season, Heyward’s third season in the league and his first as a full-time starter on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense.
As was often the case in the Steelers-Patriots games throughout that era, the Steelers lost 55-31, but Heyward notched his first sack on Brady. It came towards the end of the second quarter on 2nd and goal. That helped them hold the Patriots to a field goal on that goal line drive. It was also Heyward’s first sack of the season, and just the third full sack of his career.
Below is a clip of that sack.
The second came in Week 15 of the 2017 season. That was one of the closer regular season games between the Steelers and Patriots during the Brady era. It was also the game that Jesse James definitely caught that ball.
This sack came on 1st and 10 while the game was still tied at seven points each in the first quarter. He sacked Brady for a loss of eight yards, which put them behind the chains and forced them to settle for a field goal.
It was probably an extra sweet moment for Heyward, who secured his first double-digit sack season with this hit on Brady.
Below is a clip of that sack.
The third and final sack on Brady came in Week 6 of the 2022 season while he was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This was the lone game in which Heyward tallied a sack that the Steelers went on to beat Brady.
It was another goal-line stand, this time on 3rd and goal from the four yard line. Heyward sacked him for a loss of five yards and forced yet another field goal. This was another double-digit sack year for Heyward, with one of them being on Brady.
All three of his Brady sacks cut their drives short and forced a field goal to limit the damage. Two of them were in goal-to-go scenarios. No wonder his Brady sacks are remembered so fondly.
Below is a clip of that play.
I highly recommend you check out the whole Hot Ones interview. It is the perfect interview format as the interviewee is often in too much pain to have a filter. That was very much the case here with Heyward.
