Cameron Heyward’s flu game did not go as well as Michael Jordan’s. While the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman did everything he possibly could to help the Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals, with three key pass deflections, the Steelers lost 19-17 Saturday night. Heyward revealed after the game that he played Pittsburgh’s regular-season finale at less than full strength.
“I have the flu. It started last night, and just been dealing with it,” Heyward said via the team’s YouTube channel.
Heyward sounded hoarse during his press conference and was asked if he had a cold before telling the media that he’s been dealing with the flu.
It’s incredibly impressive to be able to play a full game with the flu, but Week 18 was an important one for the Steelers as it relates to playoff seeding. After the Baltimore Ravens won earlier today, a Steelers win would’ve locked up the No. 5 seed. Now the team is at risk of falling to the No. 6 seed and having to play the Ravens in Baltimore next weekend. If the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Las Vegas Raiders tomorrow, the Steelers will head to Baltimore for their Wild Card Round playoff matchup.
Heyward was one of Pittsburgh’s most impactful defenders tonight despite being ill, and his playing today goes to show just how much winning and this team mean to him. Heyward hasn’t experienced much postseason success in his Steelers tenure, and locking up the No. 5 seed would’ve made the path to Pittsburgh’s first playoff victory since 2016 a lot easier. But the Steelers couldn’t get the job done despite Heyward’s best efforts, as the offense struggled for most of the night.
It wasn’t the end to the regular season that Pittsburgh envisioned, and this is a team that now has a lot of work to do to get right ahead of the playoffs. For Heyward, that’s going to include getting healthy, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he didn’t practice much in the early portion of next week as he gets his body ready for the playoffs.
Heyward’s perseverance wasn’t rewarded tonight, but the Steelers will look to learn from their struggles over their past four games and head into the postseason as a different team than the one they’ve been for the last month.
