Determined Cam Heyward played at his best in 4th quarter of Steelers' win vs. Raiders

If Cameron Heyward looked like he was a man on a mission Saturday night in the fourth quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders, it’s because, well, he was.

On a night when the Pittsburgh Steelers were honoring the late Franco Harris by retiring his jersey number, Heyward wouldn’t accept anything short of a victory.

Which is why the Steelers’ 33-year-old defensive captain made sure the defense prevented the Raiders from adding to their four-point lead so the offense could stage a rally in the final minute for a 13-10 victory at Acrisure Stadium.

“Personally, I wasn’t going to take no (for an answer),” Heyward said Thursday. “With everything going on — you don’t want to dedicate games — but I felt in my mind (a loss) wasn’t going to happen. I know it’s a team game, and you need your teammates to follow that as well, but I felt as a group we weren’t going to take that.”

Heyward took it upon himself to lead the way. He had one of his two sacks and four of his seven tackles after Chris Boswell’s field goal with 9 minutes, 47 seconds left pulled the Steelers within 10-6. The Raiders totaled 18 net yards and one first down on their final three series.

On the first play after Boswell’s field goal, Heyward and Larry Ogunjobi combined on a tackle. After the Raiders got that lone first down and while facing a second-and-8, Heyward sacked Derek Carr for a 10-yard loss.

When the Raiders got the ball back with 4:32 remaining and the Steelers needing a three-and-out, Heyward and Ogunjobi combined for another tackle on first down. On second down, Heyward stopped NFL rushing leader Josh Jacobs for no gain. After an incomplete pass by Carr, the Raiders punted the ball back to the Steelers with 2:55 left.

Kenny Pickett and the offense took care of the rest with a 10-play, 76-yard touchdown drive, providing a fitting punctuation mark to a game that was commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception.

“Mike T brought it up that if you dedicate a game, it can go one of two ways,” Heyward said. “He can say that. Through our hearts, we felt like we couldn’t.”

Heyward played 47 of 53 snaps against the Raiders, which equaled 89% of all defensive plays, tying his season high. The Steelers like to use a rotation on the defensive line to keep veterans such as Heyward fresh. But the way Heyward has played recently, it’s been difficult to keep him off the field.

In the previous two games, Heyward logged 85% and 89% of the snaps. Not surprisingly, he had 1.5 sacks in the win at Carolina a week earlier, giving Heyward 3.5 of his eight sacks this season in that two-game span.

“He’s a unicorn. I say that all the time,” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. “What allows him to do it is he keeps himself in great shape through the wear and tear of it. It’s hard to explain, but the guy just seems to play at a high level all the time. Part of it is conditioning, will power, a desire to be a great player. Factor in that he’s really durable, and it’s amazing.

“The amount of plays he plays, you don’t see that very often.”

Heyward said it was coincidence that his big defensive effort occurred the same week he wasn’t named to the Pro Bowl for the first time in six seasons.

“I’ve got tons of motivation,” he said. “I can go through the list, but it’s something down the road I’ll have to think about. There are so many things I need to do for this team that the Pro Bowl comes second to.”

Atop that bucket list is continuing to be a team leader. Heyward is in his eighth consecutive season of serving as a team captain, a designation he doesn’t take for granted. When he was taken in the first round of the 2011 draft, Heyward joined a defense that included linemen Casey Hampton, Brett Keisel, Aaron Smith and Chris Hoke, plus a group of leaders such as Troy Polamalu, James Farrior and Larry Foote.

“It was about being a sponge and absorbing as much as I could,” he said. “They would have their old-guy meetings, they’d be upstairs watching TV and I just wanted to sit there and be a part of it. I appreciated it. I came to work every day trying to get better, but understanding the relationship I got from that and understanding how they went about their business was huge for me.

“They made me a better pro because of it.”

A dozen years later, Heyward is still going strong. He has been named a first-team All-Pro in three of the previous five seasons. Off the field, he has been nominated for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award for the fifth time — a testament to his community service.

“You can tell there is a certain standard that he is used to and has always been around,” rookie defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal said. “He always wants to show it. As the leader he is, he puts that on display every day whether we are in meetings or out on the field practicing.

“I have a vision and goals I want to reach, and he shows me that’s the direction I want to go and how to work toward that.”