With a sack of Taylor Heinicke in the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh Steelers DL Cameron Heyward racked up career sack No. 81.5, passing OLB James Harrison to move to second all-time in team history. Heyward was previously tied with Harrison with 80.5 sacks. Heyward previously tied Harrison’s sack total on Dec. 7 last season.
Below is a clip of the play from the Steelers’ account on X.
It appeared as if T.J. Watt potentially could’ve gotten credit for a half sack, which would’ve given him 100 for his career, but the full credit went to Heyward. The Steelers defense now has No. 1 and No. 2 in team history for sacks with Watt and Heyward currently on the roster.
Harrison played for the Steelers from 2002-2015, then returned for a second stint from 2014-2017. He was the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 with a career-high 16 sacks. This sack was Heyward’s first of the season, as he entered the season tied with Harrison for No. 2 all-time.
It’s another impressive accomplishment for Heyward, Pittsburgh’s first-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.
Heyward was signed to a three-year contract just before the start of the season. That gives him a chance to finish his career and continue adding to his second-place total that may take some time to pass for future Steelers. This gives Heyward an excellent chance at reaching the 90-sack mark which has historically meant a future Hall of Fame induction for defensive tackles.
We will see if he gets a half sack taken away to split with Watt, but either way, he is now in sole possession of second on the team’s all-time sack list.
