The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a tough defeat at the hands of the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night. Considered as favorites heading into the game, the Pittsburgh defense struggled to contain Joe Flacco and Cincinnati on offense. A clip from the game seemed to show the frustrations of the Steelers' defense boiling over.
A clip has recently gone viral showing Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward punching Joe Flacco. After getting the sack against the quarterback, the clip seemed to show Heyward taking a cheap shot at the Bengals quarterback.
The clip has drawn a ton of negative reactions, especially from Bengals fans. On his podcast “Not Just Football”, Heyward set the record straight on the alleged punch. The Steelers DT said that he didn't intend to punch Flacco, but his celebration of the sack just accidentally hit the Bengals quarterback.
“I was literally celebrating,” Heyward said. “We had just gotten a sack. I just split a sack, it should’ve been a full… Yeah, that’s all it was but there was no punching Joe Flacco. I don’t even think like there was no acknowledgment. Like there was no O-linemen. There’s no one even took offense to it. I was literally just celebrating, but camera angles are everything.”
The Steelers' struggles to get to Flacco with their pass rush were a key reason why they lost to the Bengals. Flacco was sacked just two times, and he was barely pressured in the pocket. Part of it was Cincinnati running more quick sets than usual, but even in the longer developing plays, Pittsburgh was having a hard time getting to Flacco.
Pittsburgh will look to bounce back against a familiar foe for quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Steelers are set to host the Green Bay Packers, Rodgers' former team, this Sunday. A win over one of the NFC leaders will help them retake control of the AFC North after their stunning loss.
