CAM HEYWARD
Defensive Tackle
He tried. When the Steelers needed something from their defense, when they needed something from their defense down the stretch of a tie game against Detroit with Joe Haden and T.J. Watt both sidelined with injuries, Cam Heyward delivered. The rest of the team couldn't capitalize on the plays he made, but that doesn't change the fact that the defensive captain delivered.
With 4:14 left in the fourth quarter of a game that was tied, 16-16, the Lions were faced with a third-and-12 from their 11-yard line. Heyward broke through and sacked Jared Goff for a 9-yard loss back to the 2-yard line from where the Lions had to punt. After the punt, the Steelers offense took over at the 48-yard line … and promptly went three-and-out.
Then in the first possession of overtime, the Lions were faced with a third-and-7 from the Steelers 41-yard line. Again, Heyward broke through and sacked Goff for another 9-yard loss. That eliminated any thought Detroit Coach Dan Campbell might have had about going for it on fourth down, and so the Lions punted again.
On the second play after the punt, Diontae Johnson fumbled at the end of a 39-yard catch-and-run, and instead of a needing just a few more yards for Chris Boswell to be able to attempt a game-winning field goal, the Lions took over at their 45-yard line.
Heyward finished with five tackles, including two for loss, plus those two sacks. He is the Steelers Digest Player of the Week.
Also considered was Najee Harris, who posted the second 100-yard rushing game of his rookie season with 105 yards on 26 carries (4.0 average) and added 28 more yards on four receptions to finish with 133 yards from scrimmage.
