Steelers respond to teammate's accusation that defense quit vs. Pats
The Pittsburgh Steelers are missing more than their starting quarterback — at least that's what defensive end Cam Heyward implied when he said the defense "quit" in Sunday's loss to the Patriots.
Heyward, who missed the first games of his career with a hamstring injury the past two weeks, was particularly upset after the Steelers pulled to 20-16 in the fourth quarter, then surrendered a game-clinching touchdown on a six-play drive that lasted just three minutes.
"It was like we just quit," Heyward told reporters Monday. "I don't mean to say that lightly, but I feel like we had so many opportunities out there. I felt like after that, it was almost like the wind got pushed out of us."
On Tuesday, defensive coordinator Keith Butler said he disagreed that the defense quit, but did challenge it to be better, and players shared that sentiment.
"We have to play harder, we have to play more physical," Butler told reporters. "I think we're capable of playing harder and more physical, but I don't think we quit by any means. It's frustrating and we're all frustrated at this point in time."
Heyward pointed to the fact Pittsburgh allowed close to 400 yards rushing in back-to-back weeks — echoing linebacker Ryan Shazier, who called the team's run defense "garbage" after Sunday's loss.
I totally agree with Shazier, we need players to start making plays especially on 3rd down. #Steelers @RyanShazier pic.twitter.com/3eiTsGiVae
— TheSteelersZone (@TheSteelersZone) October 25, 2016
"We can't play like that as a defense," Heyward said. "We let them run the ball. Too many times they're falling forward and that's not what we're supposed to do. You have to have some pride when you're out there. Guys have to step up, whoever's out there. There can't be a letdown."
Linebacker Lawrence Timmons agreed.
"That's not our best performance," he told reporters. "That's definitely not a strong showing by us. That's not a display of who we are."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
