Steelers DT Cam Heyward Reacts to Aaron Donald’s Impressive Rams Return

David in Ohio called The Rich Eisen Show because he needed someone to tell him the Pittsburgh Steelers' season wasn't over. He got Cam Heyward instead. What happened next was one of the best bits of the week, and it set the table for a conversation that ranged from the Steelers' growing pains to Aaron Donald's return and the two defenses Heyward respects most right now.

Rich set it up as a demonstration of what "RES Consulting" can do for a worried fan. David opened by telling Chris he was 1-0 after picking the Steelers over the Patriots, then offered Heyward some good vibes, praise for the Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy reunion, and thanks for everything Heyward does. What he did not do was say what he told the call screener.

So Rich read it for him. David in Ohio, quote, "Needs reassurance season is not over."

Heyward answered like a captain. "After week two, David? I know it wasn't pretty, but you got to believe in us. Give us a chance, baby. Let me earn it back for you." David's one request was simple: please sack Joe Burrow. "I need to, brother," Heyward said. "Their offense is on fire right now. So, we got to be some firemen and put this thing out."

Heyward admitted the call lifted him on "a pretty somber day." Then he spoke to the rest of western Pennsylvania. "We got to go through some growing pains," he said. "We got a new offense and on defense we have a lot of the same pieces, but the offense is growing and I'd rather have this problem now than late in December."

Rich asked if teams need to play more in the preseason. Heyward didn't think that was the answer. It is about continuity, he said, with a lot of moving parts and young guys in new positions. "Coach McCarthy's trying to implement a system that everybody's got to thrive in, but Rome wasn't built in a day," he said. "Don't expect it to just be perfect on day one, but we got to get back on the horse."

Afterward, Rich couldn't let the call go. Adam, the call screener, writes down exactly what callers say they want to talk about. David had Cam Heyward on the line ready to reassure him, and instead went with "I think you're great in the community." Rich compared it to throwing Dave in Ohio a Dwight Gooden 12-to-6 curveball and watching him stare at it.

The problem for Pittsburgh's defense heading into a massive Week 3 matchup with Cincinnati is clear to Heyward: stopping the run. The first two opponents have had success on the ground, and turnovers have masked it.

He warned that Cincinnati is sneaky in that department. "You hear so much about what those wide receivers can do, what Joe Burrow can do. Not everybody talks about what Chase Brown can do," Heyward said. He recalled last year's Thursday night game in Cincinnati, when everyone made a big deal about Joe Flacco and Aaron Rodgers, "the icy hot bowl of the century," and it was Chase Brown who went off, getting downhill and opening up everything for the offense.

Burrow presents his own problem. "He's a competitor," Heyward said. "Not many teams have a Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase," and you can't just double them. "You got to make some plays, you got to get sacks, you got to get turnovers. But Joe doesn't make it easy. He's light on his feet, can move."

Rich asked about getting Joey Porter Jr. back. "The more the merrier," Heyward said, acknowledging there has been a contract dispute along with injuries on that side of the ball. "We know we're a better team with him."

Heyward did not watch much of Monday night's game. "I was too much in my feelings to watch," he said. Losses still hit him hard. "I'm not a sore loser, but I take losses pretty hard," he explained, and not watching the rest of the league is part of how he decompresses.

Rich still wanted his read on Aaron Donald's return with the Rams. The Next Gen Stats: 32 snaps, and on 18 pass rush snaps, a get off time of 0.75 seconds, the third fastest by a defensive tackle this season.

"Aaron Donald's ready to play," Heyward said. "32 snaps off of having played anything in 2 years is crazy." From the highlights, Donald looked active and was getting off the ball. But Heyward, who plays the same position, wanted to know about the morning after. "I want to know how he feels today though. That's the real question because 2 years off of playing, that's probably going to make the knees and back a little bit shaky this morning."

He trusts Donald to handle it. "Aaron takes really good care of his body, runs a lot," Heyward said, remembering the two of them working out on the same field during COVID. He added that the Rams have good defensive linemen like Braden Fiske to rotate so it is not all Donald every snap. "If you're not sliding to him, that guard is going to be in a world of hurt."

Asked for the best team in football through two weeks, Heyward picked Seattle, mainly for its defense. "I just love the cohesiveness from the back end to the front end and they deliver pressure on all fronts," he said. He singled out Leonard Williams as the leader up front and Julian Love for making critical plays when needed.

He also gave credit to the team he is about to face. "I also think Cincinnati's defense has been balling as of late," Heyward said. "A lot of respect for what Dexter Lawrence is doing over there. If you're not double teaming that guy, that is crazy because he's already a behemoth of a man."

Rich mentioned that Zac Taylor had talked about Lawrence earlier in the show and asked how a player in the middle can change everything. Heyward said the interior guy is often overlooked, but "that's the type of guy who is the straw that stirs the drink. It's the guy who sets the tempo, the guy who everybody feeds off of." He said Lawrence and Jonathan Allen play off each other well, with great energy, pad level, and "violent hands."

"I don't envy our offense cuz we got to get it right," Heyward said, "but that dude is a bull in a china shop."

After Cincinnati, the Steelers go to Cleveland on a Thursday night, and Rich reminded Heyward that his college state is beckoning. "They love me there, don't they?" Heyward joked. Rich once again offered himself for a home-and-home on Heyward's Not Just Football podcast, and Heyward promised to save him for "that certain week," with more Buckeyes in the room to gang up on him. Rich only asked that Heyward bring Roman Wilson. "Roman's not available at that time," Heyward said.