"We just think we gotta be the reason why we win. Simple as that."
Whoa. Cam Heyward really just threw that out there. And he wasn't done.
"We know we got all the pieces on offense, but going forward, we feel like we have to win it from here on out. I'm confident and fine with saying that. It just means we gotta get the job done."
Heyward said all this while standing at his locker at the Rooney Complex, not a hint of doubt in his voice or in his eyes. It was an authoritative statement — exactly the kind of thing you'd hope a veteran leader would say when his team is 2-4 and in "survival" mode, as Ramon Foster put it before the team's Week 6 matchup against the Chargers.
That game out in Carson, Calif. — a 24-17 Steelers win — certainly inspired some faith in that "we" Heyward referenced. The defense picked off Philip Rivers twice and opened the game's scoring with a fumble recovery for a touchdown. And despite recording just one sack, the defense tallied six quarterback hits in all, flustering Rivers from the jump.
Mason Rudolph missed that game as he recovered from a concussion, so undrafted rookie Devlin Hodges got the start — and that set the stage for the defense to shine.
"I feel like, any time you have a young quarterback, an inexperienced guy, whether it's Mason or Duck [Hodges] — and obviously this week it'll be Mason — but you want to be able to help out your team as much as possible," T.J. Watt was telling me at his locker Wednesday when I relayed Heyward's statement his way. "And I feel like we have the guys defensively, and we have great coaching and everything to be able to put us in great positions to make those great plays.
"I'm very confident in our ability to step up as a defense. Any way we can create turnovers, create short fields to help out Mason and the offense, we're going to do it."
If the season to this point is any indication, the Steelers defense better do it. It wasn't just Hodges getting the start against the Chargers that raised the stakes. It's the 2019 version of the Steelers offense as a whole. The team ranks 28th in yards per game with 276.5, 28th in passing yards per game with 200 on the nose and 26th in rushing with 76.5 yards per contest.
Not good. None of it.
JuJu Smith-Schuster's having a career-worst season. Donte Moncrief hasn't been what the team expected. Jaylen Samuels is out with an injury, Vance McDonald is a hit away from missing more time and while James Washington and James Conner likely will be 100 percent ready to roll for Week 8, they've each struggled with injuries this year, too.
Oh, and Ben Roethlisberger is out for the year. That one still matters.
And while the defense acknowledges they have to step up, they say that doesn't necessarily come with additional pressure or stress. They're here to do their job, to make plays and to make something happen. That doesn't change whether the offense puts up 30 or three.
"There's always a pressure to make plays and be a reason why you win," Vince Williams was saying Wednesday.
These key contributions are coming from all angles in 2019. Devin Bush is a frontrunner for Defensive Rookie of the Year. He's tied for the league lead with four fumble recoveries and one defensive touchdown, and he's tied for 10th in the league with two interceptions. He's also made 52 tackles (32 solo), a total good for 25th — in just six games due to the team's bye.
Minkah Fitzpatrick and Steven Nelson, two newcomers to the defense — Fitzpatrick via trade before Week 3 and Nelson in free agency before the start of OTAs — have stepped in and made an immediate impact, as well.
Williams, for one, isn't surprised to see them flourish.
"They just gotta come in and be professionals and be ready to go," he said. "[They need to have] that understanding that you're going to be relied upon heavily, and I think just having guys that are mature enough and able to do that is important."
Nelson explained it another way.
"I think we just have great guys, great coaches," he was telling me. "They build a competitive environment, dating back to OTAs all the way up to training camp. Coach [Tomlin], his mentality brings the best out of guys."
There it is again, that "mentality" forming the foundation of it all. It starts there. Heyward put it in plain terms, but the results on the field are a little more abstract. This defense is yelling, communicating, celebrating and flat-out having fun, both in practice and in games.
"We're just playing with swagger, trying to make sure we keep the energy high," Kameron Kelly was telling me. "It starts in practice, making sure we practice with energy, making sure we practice high-intensity every day."
This defense feels they're capable of producing turnovers, of sacking the quarterback, of bringing that splash back to Pittsburgh's defense — because they are. They're tied for second in the NFL with 15 takeaways — eight interceptions against seven fumbles, trailing only the Patriots' 22 — and tied for fifth with 20 sacks. Five out of the seven teams tied or above them in the latter category have played an extra game.
"It's fun, man," Nelson said of being a part of this 2019 Steelers defense. "We got a lot of competitors on our defense, and I think as long as you have guys like that, you'll have a lot fun doing it."
You know what's even more fun for them? They don't feel like they've reached the peak yet — at all. There's more to come.
“We feel great. A lot of key components came to the team," Terrell Edmunds was telling me. "And we’re just continuing to get better. We’re not all the way to our peak yet, but we’re still trying to get to that pinnacle of everything right now.”
Need a second opinion? Take it away, Mr. Watt:
"We're just trying to find out who we are as an identity, as a unit, and we're finally getting in a groove here and it'll only continue to excel as we grow together."
They'll get a chance to back up those words Monday, Oct. 28, in a primetime showdown vs. the league-worst, winless Dolphins at Heinz Field.
Not a bad opportunity to prove it.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
[caption id="attachment_905936" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]
Steelers practice, Rooney Sports Complex, Oct. 23, 2019 -- MATT SUNDAY / DKPS[/caption]
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