Subscribe
Follow Us
The Pittsburgh Steelers have had some trouble coming to terms with their disappointing loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC divisional round. While there are plenty of reasons for the abrupt end to their season, defensive end Cameron Heyward pinpointed what ultimately went wrong for the Steelers.
The Pittsburgh coaching staff received plenty of criticism for essentially looking ahead to an AFC Championship showdown with the New England Patriots. However, Heyward feels the players should be held accountable for their lack of execution, according to Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
“It’s not the scheme,” Heyward said. “I think we had a great game plan, but execution has to be part of the situation. When you don’t execute on your assignments … it doesn’t matter what you play. You’re sacrificing the team’s success over your own. That’s a critical thing we have to learn from as a group. If one guy doesn’t do his job, then you’re hurting the other 10 guys. I’m not trying to point one guy out. We all have to get better from this. It falls a lot on me, being the defensive leader. We have to grow.”
The Steelers fell behind early thanks to a pair of turnovers from veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Although he managed to lead the offense on a late surge, the defense was unable to prevent the Jaguars from scoring when they needed to.
As a result, there is speculation regarding changes with the coaching staff. Although offensive coordinator Todd Haley has initially landed on the hot seat, there have even been rumors swirling about head coach Mike Tomlin's future with the team.
