The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t have one of their best defensive players on the field in Week 2, but they still managed to get a hard-fought divisional win over the Cleveland Browns.
Cam Heyward is going to be sidelined for a while, as he’s still nursing a groin injury that landed him on the Injured Reserve (IR) list.
But now that he’s had some spare time to watch tape and assess some of his colleagues and rivals league-wide, he took to Good Morning Football to share his expertise and talk about three underrated and overlooked defensive players.
The defensive players that have caught @CamHeyward's attention thus far: pic.twitter.com/LKfsgFl1xW
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) September 21, 2023
First, he talked about 30-year-old DT David Onyemata, stating that he’s been a huge pickup for the Atlanta Falcons and praising the immediate impact he’s made for their front seven.
Then, he talked about Philadelphia Eagles DE Josh Sweat, who currently ranks second in the league in sacks and already has six QB pressures through just two weeks.
Last but not least, Heyward lauded Steelers teammate Alex Highsmith, praising the linebacker for his ability to get to the quarterback and reminding everybody that he’s coming off posting 14.5 sacks last season alone.
He also praised Highsmith for his elite Bobby Boucher impersonation, but that’s not so relevant for the purposes of playing defense in the league.
The offense wins games, but the defense wins championships.
That old saying is as relevant nowadays as it was two decades ago, and chances are that’s never going to change, not even in today’s pass-happy National Football League.
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