As he looks back at the 2019 season, Cameron Heyward doesn’t take comfort in the Pittsburgh Steelers having the most takeaways and sacks in the NFL.

It’s no consolation to him that the defense carried the offense in the second half of the season and was the reason the Steelers had an 8-5 record in December without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger contributing to a single victory.

The Steelers, of course, lost their final three games as the offense couldn’t find the end zone — again — and defense suddenly couldn’t stop the run. It cost the Steelers a playoff berth and took the shine off all those interceptions, forced fumbles and sacks.

As he prepares for a 2020 season that potentially could be delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, Heyward casts a critical eye at all of the defensive faults and corrections that need to be made before the regular season begins.

“We weren’t the No. 1 defense,” Heyward said Thursday on a video conference call. “We can sit here and say we want to be this, we want to be that, but we weren’t. We led the league in sacks, and we led the league in turnovers, but we weren’t off the field enough to give our offense opportunities.

“You can still improve on that.”

Heyward then zeroed in on the one area that has been the trademark of Steelers defenses since the 1970s — stopping the run.

While the Steelers finished third among the 32 teams in defending the pass and fifth overall, they ranked No. 14 in stopping the run. The high-water mark of the season was when the Steelers rose to ninth after improving to 8-5 with a win over the Arizona Cardinals.

In the final three weeks, the Steelers gave up 438 yards rushing in losses to the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens. That included 130 rushing yards by the Bills, who scored 10 fourth-quarter points to pull out a 17-10 victory, and 223 by the Ravens in a game the Steelers needed to win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

“We have to be more of a run-stopping defense,” Heyward said. “I don’t think we were in the top five at all, so those are things we can get better at. If we can continue with the turnovers and sacks, that would be great, but I think fourth-quarter scoring (is another area of improvement).

“We look at the last couple of games and critical drives in the fourth quarter played a big role.”

The defense returns virtually intact with nose tackle Javon Hargrave and inside linebacker Mark Barron representing the only regular contributors missing from last season. The Steelers have two plug-and-play veterans ready to take over in defensive linemen Tyson Alualu and inside linebacker Vince Williams. Each is no stranger to taking regular snaps in Keith Butler’s defense.

The Steelers also have inside linebacker Devin Bush, the team’s rookie of the year, entering his second full NFL season. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick is spending his first offseason with the team after being acquired in September. Cornerback Steve Nelson also is entering his second year in the defense.

“We had a lot of young guys last year who didn’t fully grasp the concepts and weren’t able to think on their toes,” Fitzpatrick said. “Teams pick up on that and it makes people move around and makes us communicate during the snap. That’s been an emphasis this offseason, working on that second of communication after guys move and the offense might adjust.

“It will help us a whole lot once we get on the same page.”

With the start — and length — of training camp an uncertainty, the Steelers could have an advantage over most teams based on the number of returning starters they have on defense. A shortened preseason will force teams to jell quickly.

“I think we’re just going to take it up another level with the guys coming back,” Nelson said. “We have a great locker room. Guys have been communicating throughout this whole time. We’re trying to bring the younger guys along. These Zoom meetings with the coaches have been very helpful. We’ve been correcting mistakes and trying to get better as a unit.”

Heyward, who has replaced Ramon Foster as the Steelers union representative, is hopeful the NFL will let teams know by July 4 when training camp might begin and what shape it will take as the league adheres to measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

“Football is going to have to change a lot,” he said. “I heard someone say this before, but it’s not like covid-19 needs to bend for football. Football has to bend for covid. We’re going to have to really make some sacrifices to our game to make sure this is even possible and to make sure our players are healthy.”

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