After a heart-race-inducing season finale, our Pittsburgh Steelers have punched their ticket to the playoffs for the third year in a row, and the fifth time in six years. Making it extra sweet was the victory coming against the Ravens, and in the process, giving us a clip of Baltimore misery and a play-by-play soundbite that will be included in Steelers-Ravens montages for generations to come. That Baltimore fired longtime head coach John Harbaugh just two days after this defeat will surely only
add to the legend when we talk about this bitter rivalry, which continues to be the NFL’s best of the 21st century.
With the Steelers’ position in the playoffs secured, we wanted to give one last shoutout to one of the heroes of the team in Week 18. But then it’s all eyes ahead towards the playoffs.
Cam Heyward’s Week 18 was one to remember
RB: I was so impressed with Cam Heyward’s performance against the Ravens on Sunday that I dedicated an entire section of my postgame column to talking about it. But now that the all-22 is out, I figured it would be worthwhile to revisit it.
But first, some context. The well-traveled, but true, talking point is that Heyward is 36 years old and somehow still looking like an elite interior defensive lineman. But it’s even more impressive than that. Even as one of the oldest defenders in the league, Heyward somehow ranks first in snaps played at his position per PFF. He’s made the most of those snaps, as well: Among his position, he’s first in solo tackles, second in stops, second in hurries, and ninth in total pressures.
Heyward’s 2025 season didn’t have the hottest of starts, but as it’s gone on, he’s once again looked like a premier player at his position. And he had what I’d call his best performance of the season against the Ravens on Sunday, playing like a veteran who knew it might be his last chance at winning that ever-elusive Super Bowl ring. His emotions after the game made that beyond clear.
The Ravens were also privy to the season Heyward is having, choosing to run away from him on their first play from scrimmage. That choice paid off with a chunk gain for Derrick Henry, but Heyward still gave quite the effort attempting to chase the run from behind.
Heyward was temporarily removed from the game after James Pierre was blocked into his knees during the play, but came back in a play later. And on that same drive, he made his first impact play of the game.
Heyward has long been known as a power guy, with one of the most feared bull rushes in the NFL. But on Sunday, his athleticism was also on display. While Heyward’s strength made it near-impossible for the Ravens’ offensive line to handle him one-on-one, he was also moving horizontally well to keep up with Baltimore’s outside zone attack.
Again, watch the play above. It’s a bad rep for the Ravens’ left guard, but also a surprising display of quickness by Heward to get around the blocker and corral Derrick Henry.
I won’t blather on with a play-by-play of every one of Heyward’s highlights from the Ravens game. There were just too many. But here’s a compilation of most of the rest:
Heyward’s effort stands out. On the pass-rushing rep where he didn’t connect with the quarterback, he still drew a hold. On another play, he was pushed back, fought until the whistle, and still made a tackle.
And his run defense and two-gapping? “Textbook” is an overused compliment, but I’m not sure what else to say. The talk that this was one of the best games of Heyward’s already storied career isn’t all that hyperbolic.
Look even at T.J. Watt’s game-changing interception. Who got a hand in the passing lane? You guessed it (shoutout Alex Highsmith, too).
The point? Well, enjoy watching Cam Heyward while you can. And while there isn’t a ton of optimism around these parts, given the team’s recent record in the playoffs, remember that these matchups still mean everything to those on the roster – especially names such as Heyward who don’t have that many games left.
How big is D.K. Metcalf’s return from suspension for the Steelers?
RP: After watching the Steelers come just a Tyler Loop shanked field goal away from choking away the AFC North in his absence, I don’t think it can be oversold how important Metcalf is for this team. Sure, Aaron Rodgers hasn’t exactly been lighting up the box score this year – he has yet to throw for 300 yards or more this season, and Russell Wilson and Justin Fields only did so once apiece last year – but the already constipated passing game came to a screeching halt without Metcalf out the past two games.
Against Cleveland, Rodgers managed only 168 yards passing and had just 155 through three quarters against the Ravens before that explosive fourth quarter. In those two games, running backs (23.6%) and tight ends (32.9%) accounted for 56.5% of the Steelers’ receiving yards. Regardless of position, the Steelers averaged 8.8 yards per reception during Metcalf’s absence. To put that into context, no team averaged less than 9.3 YPR on the year, and only four teams (the Browns, Jets, Raiders, and Titans) averaged less than 10.0 YPR.
Without Metcalf, there are no perimeter threats to frighten opposing defenses. Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Calvin Austin III both have the deep speed to be vertical threats, but teams are more than happy to dare MVS to catch the ball, and Austin isn’t winning many contested downfield battles either.
And while Metcalf hasn’t played particularly well in contested situations himself this year, there has yet to be another Steeler with whom Rodgers can depend on when he attempts a back-shoulder throw.
There’s also no other receiver on the roster who can match his explosiveness. With the exception of Ben Skowronek (17.3), who only has four receptions on the year, Metcalf leads the team in YPR (14.4) as well as touchdowns (6). He has more than double the yards (850) of the next highest wide receiver, and he trails only running backs Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell in yards after catch (446) on the team, which makes sense given that the running backs typically catch the ball at or behind the line of scrimmage.
Quite simply put, there is no one else on the team who can do this:
The Steelers offense wins when it can either:
A) String together long, meticulous drives with runs of four or more yards and a quick passing game that stays ahead of the sticks and relies on YAC.
B) Break off the occasional explosive play.
Metcalf is one of the few Steelers who can relatively consistently provide the latter. Warren and Gainwell are typically the others – and sometimes Freiermuth – but without Metcalf, defenses are able to creep up and restrict the Steelers offense, which makes producing explosive plays out of the backfield even harder than it normally is.
Metcalf isn’t a perfect player who will fix all of the Steelers’ problems, but the defenses only get tougher once you reach the playoffs. In basketball, it’s often set that when the playoffs arrive, teams that hope to advance far need to have a bucket getter they can rely on when things are at their most challenging. While he may not be a top-10 receiver in the league, Metcalf is that bucket getter for Pittsburgh. But even if Metcalf is slowed by a lockdown corner such as Houston’s Derek Stingley Jr., the Steelers offense will still have a much better chance with Metcalf in the fold than they would without him. The attention and gravity Metcalf will demand from the opposing offense will benefit the other players around him. His presence alone should open things up for the running backs and tight ends.
And that’s key, because the Steelers will need every last one of them at their best if they want to advance far in these playoffs.
So… Do the Steelers have a chance against Houston?
RP: We don’t want to get too far into the weeds here because we’ve still got our game preview coming out on Friday. But the short answer: Maybe?
A few weeks back, when Ryland and I power-ranked potential playoff opponents, we both agreed that the Texans would provide the second-toughest matchup for the Steelers. That’s largely thanks to the Texans’ intimidating defense. Houston’s fierce pass rush, paired with one of the league’s best secondaries, is still a major threat to Pittsburgh’s rather rigid approach to offense.
And Houston enters the playoffs as one of the league’s hottest teams. The Texans last lost on November 2, 18-15 at home against Denver. Since then, they’ve won nine straight. They averaged 26.2 points per game during that stretch, and allowed just 19.3.
That sounds like a tough draw for a Steelers team that’s scored 21.6 a game and allowed 21.3 a game over that same stretch. But fortunately for the Steelers, the Texans’ offense is equally as streaky as theirs is, and Houston is another team with a habit of winning ugly. Of those final nine games, six were one-score games. A seventh game, a 20-10 victory over the Chiefs, feels like it spiritually identifies with the type of slow-paced, grind-it-out games that both of these teams often find themselves in.
In the part of my brain that has been fried by an upbringing on SNL reruns and the Chappelle Show, I like to picture a scene between Mike Tomlin and DeMeco Ryans somewhere around midfield before the game. They’re engaging his some friendly pre-game banter when Mike Tomlin embraces his inner Bane:
“Oh, you think the slop is your ally. But you merely adopted the slop. I was born in it. Molded by it. I didn’t see a high-scoring offense until I was already a man. By then, it was nothing to me but blinding. The ugly win betrays you – because it belongs to ME.”
Chris Boswell then redeems last week by hitting six 50-yarders in a row, and Ryans’ head is left spinning as the Steelers win the ugliest 18-17 playoff victory of all-time.
At least that’s how I envision the Steelers winning if they’re able to do us proud on Monday. Some of you might be pointing out that Mike Tomlin is Bane in that fantasy, and Batman ultimately does get it together enough to win by the end of that movie.
And to that I say… Can you just let a guy daydream?
RB: Ryan and I are on a similar wavelength here, so I’ll keep my thoughts short.
The Houston defense is truly elite, and it will not be an easy matchup for a below-average Pittsburgh offense, even with Metcalf back in the fold. If you thought Aaron Rodgers targeting one-on-ones with Scotty Miller versus Denzel Ward was bad, wait until it’s against the cornerback duo of Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter.
And while the Pittsburgh O-line has held up well in pass protection this year, the combination of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter is miles above what the Ravens were putting on the field on Sunday.
But the Texans, despite their winning streak, haven’t exactly been dominant over that stretch, as Ryan pointed out. And the offense isn’t as terrifying as the defense. C.J. Stroud is a big-armed quarterback with a talented wide receiver room, and he could certainly find success passing the ball deep on Pittsburgh as Lamar Jackson did on Sunday.
However, Houston doesn’t have a Derrick Henry or Lamar Jackson in the backfield – just Stroud (209 rushing yards this year), past-his-prime Nick Chubb, and the rookie Woody Marks. They’re a lot more one-dimensional and are a winnable matchup for the Steeler defense.
The Texans are favored, and they absolutely should be. But playing at home, the Steelers definitely have a fighter’s chance. There are a lot of strengths to this Houston team, but anything can happen in the NFL. Remember, the Texans only beat the hapless Raiders by two points last month.
Join in on Steelers R&R by sharing your takes on this week’s topics. Feel free to pitch future questions in the comment section or on Twitter/X: tag @_Ryland_B or @RyanParishMedia, or email us at steelersreadnreact@gmail.com.
