If you go back and watch any of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ final five games of the 2024 season, including the playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens, you’ll see some disturbing reoccurrences. You’ll routinely see opposing offensive players running wide-open against the Steelers’ defense. And for Steelers DL Cam Heyward, that’s not okay.
Heyward and the rest of his defensive teammates form a proud bunch. But they struggled mightily against the best teams that they faced down the stretch. And while head coach Mike Tomlin wants to shoulder the blame for the team’s struggles, Heyward isn’t willing to let himself or the rest of the players off the hook after another first-round playoff exit.
“I think Mike T can say his guys don’t have to carry the luggage, but we do,” Heyward said Thursday during an interview with SiriusXM Radio at the Pro Bowl Games. “Every year, we’re striving to win the Super Bowl. And when we [fall] short, we all have to own it. And we all have to be better because of it. I don’t think we had enough cohesion on defense to be sound. That starts with players executing at a high rate. I think we have the guys in the room, but going forward, we need to clean up a lot of things. I think the playoff game, especially, against Baltimore, you gotta have your execution at a high level, and we did not.”
Perhaps Heyward’s characterization of the defense not executing at a high level against Baltimore in the Wild Card round is a bit of an understatement. For a refresher on just how bad it was, check out Alex Kozora’s video breakdown. Suffice it to say, it was ugly.
And it wasn’t just the playoff loss to the Ravens. There were repeated instances of pass catchers running wide open and gaping holes in the run defense down the stretch. S DeShon Elliott didn’t mince words after the Christmas Day loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, calling out the defense for letting players continue to run wide open.
There were times when players said it was communication issues. There were times when players said they just weren’t executing. But Heyward believes it isn’t a talent issue. He thinks that the Steelers have the pieces on defense to make it work. They just have to actually perform at the level they’re capable of.
Perhaps no player has been under the microscope more on defense than LB Patrick Queen. He was the Steelers’ prized offseason free-agent signing from Baltimore. And he had the green dot for the defense, getting the calls from the sideline and relaying them to his teammates. So if there were communication issues, fingers naturally were pointed at him. And he didn’t live up to the billing in 2024, either.
Pro Football Focus’ Dalton Wasserman called Queen the Steelers’ worst free-agent signing of 2024. He had career lows in sacks and tackles for a loss. He also failed to record an interception for only the second time in his career.
Was Queen responsible for all the problems on the Steelers’ defense? Absolutely not. But he might be emblematic of the issues. Thankfully, we’ve seen what Queen can do at a high level in his career. So even if he’s part of the problem, he can be part of the solution, too.
But the Steelers certainly need to solve their defensive problems in 2025. Otherwise, the likelihood of more struggles against the top teams in the NFL is high.
