Cam Heyward walked off the field Sunday looking nothing like a guy who spent the week hyping Josh Allen. The Buffalo Bills rolled to a 26-7 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium, but the final score wasn’t the only thing stuck in Heyward’s head. What really lit the fuse, according to him, was a shot to the gut. After the game, Heyward told reporters he got “kneed in my stomach,” adding, “It just pisses me off.” 

Heyward said the contact was no accident, claiming Josh Allen admitted, “I had to do something to get you off me.” That changed the tone of the matchup. From that moment on, every snap between the two felt personal. 

Earlier this week, Heyward even called Allen the closest thing to a superhero in football. It boiled over after Josh Allen hit Keon Coleman on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line to put Buffalo up 16-7 in the third quarter. Heyward got in Allen’s face, drew a taunting flag and watched the Bills tack on free yardage on top of a backbreaking touchdown. 

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While the two jawed, Josh Allen quietly stacked another MVP-style line with 15-of-23 for 123 yards with a touchdown and an interception, plus 38 rushing yards and a record-setting scoring run that helped Buffalo pile up 249 rushing yards. James Cook III gashed Pittsburgh for 144 yards, and the Bills improved to 8-4 while the Steelers slipped to 6-6. 

For Heyward, though, the frustration runs deeper. Defensive linemen live in the grey area, playing a brutal position in a league that leans hard toward protecting quarterbacks.

Add in a blowout loss, a flagged captain and another week of questions about where this Steelers season is heading, and it is no surprise Heyward left the field feeling like the villain in someone else’s superhero story.