PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) - Captain Cam Heyward was a proud Papa.
"Man, my defensive line was awesome today," Heyward beamed after the Steelers came from behind then had to hang on to beat Baltimore, 20-19, to stay in the thick of the AFC playoff race.
Heyward, who had missed Friday's practice due to an illness, had particular praise for a teammate who was on the other side of the rivalry his first three seasons in the NFL
"How about Chris Wormley today? I'm just proud of that dude. They traded him and he made them pay," Heyward smiled. "To play the way he did against the team he was drafted by was pretty special."
Wormley was brought in two seasons ago for depth along the defensive line but, after Tyson Alualu season-ending injury in the opener and Stephon Tuitt's extended absence, he has started the last 11 games and played reasonably well. But Sunday's game against Baltimore was by far his best.
Wormley had a career-high 2.5 sacks and 5 tackles in all.
He and Heyward, along Montavious Adams who was signed off the Saints practice squad just days before, also provided a constant push up the middle to keep Lamar Jackson under duress.
Apparently, Mike Tomlin wants to take some credit. "I told Worm when he got here, I said, "man, when a team trades you within the division they're telling you what they think of you,'" the coach chuckled. "I hope he plays like that every time we play 'em."
It sounds like Wormley didn't need any kind of a pep talk, however. "No matter who we're playing I want to perform well but it is extra special when you do it against the team that traded you away" he said. "It was extra motivation, extra important for us to get this win but also on a personal level to perform well to kind of show them what they gave away. I'm excited about it."
Not surprisingly, Wormley said – as did Heyward – that it was a team effort. "Our rush lanes were the biggest thing, keeping an edge with TJ and Alex then Cam and I and the other guys pushing the pocket," he explained. "For the most part we did that. Obviously, Lamar is Lamar, he's going to do what he does (but) for the most part I think we contained him."
After Ben Roethlisberger had led another fourth quarter comeback, Wormley and the defense had to withstand a furious Ravens rally when Jackson engineered a 60-yard touchdown drive to make it a one-point game with 12-seconds left. Rather than forced overtime Baltimore coach John Harbaugh decided to go for the win with a 2-point PAT.
Wormley wasn't surprised and also sounded fortunate that the Ravens didn't convert.. "It was a good play," Wormley remembered. "(TE) Mark (Andrews) was open but TJ caused the pressure and Lamar kind of dropped his shoulder a little bit and he threw an awkward pass." Andrews failed to catch it and the Steelers are not done yet.
Here is a fun fact - Wormley's 2.5 sacks tied his total for the first 11 games this season.
Here is an even more fun fact – Wormley is now 3-0 against the Ravens.
