CINCINNATI — Cam Heyward thinks some may argue that the Pittsburgh Steelers ' defensive line is too young. Others might make a case that he's too long in the tooth to keep doing it at a high level. Or even that fatigue set in for the group on a short week.
The veteran black and gold stalwart won't have any of making excuses for the 142 yards the Steelers defense gave up on the ground during Thursday night's road loss to the Cincinnati Bengals , though.
"I think they were last in rushing, and — the way we gave it up today — that takes the cake," Heyward said.
The Bengals were averaging 68.9 rushing yards per game entering the Thursday night clash, the fewest in the NFL. Chase Brown 's 108 rushing yards were more than double what he had in any other game through the first six weeks. He averaged 9.8 yards per carry against the Steelers .
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward tackles Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown on Dec. 1, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
"Just not playing gap-stop football," Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt said of the rush defense's failures. "Obviously, we'll have to look at the tape. It felt like the run scheme we had this game was going to be effective. I think it's going to come down to, when we look at the film, just guys getting out gap."
"We just weren't doing our job. It's that simple," inside linebacker Patrick Queen said. "We just weren't doing our job."
Heyward listed off several former Steelers run-stuffers, including Casey Hampton, Tyson Alualu , Brett Keisel and Aaron Smith.
"They prided themselves on stopping the run," Heyward said. "As a D-line, you've gotta wear that as a badge of honor, and we did not do that tonight."
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Steelers Rush Defense Reverts to Disturbing Form in Loss vs. Lowly Bengals
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