PITTSBURGH (AP) \u2014 Cam Heyward can do the math. Then again, it\u2019s not that hard.<\/p>\n
The longest-tenured defensive player in Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> history knows he has far more football behind him than he does in front of him. How much more is anybody\u2019s guess, though if you watch him on any given snap \u2014 when the seven-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle\u2019s motor appears to run just as hot at 36 as it did at 21 \u2014 it might be longer than you think.<\/p>\n Still, Heyward learned long ago that opportunities like the one that arrives Monday night, when the AFC North champion Steelers (10-7) host the Houston Texans<\/a> (12-5) in the opening round of the playoffs, don\u2019t come around that often.<\/p>\n The 15-year NFL veteran didn\u2019t think he\u2019d be this deep into the twilight of his career still looking for his first Super Bowl appearance. Yet lingering over the one hole on a resume that figures to receive Hall of Fame consideration whenever the time comes will do him no good.<\/p>\n Yes, he\u2019s aware the Steelers haven\u2019t won a playoff game in nearly a decade. And yes, he knows Pittsburgh will be an underdog every step of the way, including at home against a Texans team that will walk into Acrisure Stadium searching for the first road postseason victory in franchise history.<\/p>\n But Heyward knows he can\u2019t control the past. He has no idea what the future holds beyond Monday night. All he can do is \u201ctake the biggest bite\u201d of an apple that might not have many bites left.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m trying to prep for one game,\u201d Heyward said. \u201cThat\u2019s it there. And just put the most amount of effort I can in that game.\u201d<\/p>\n Effort has never been an issue for a player who never met a whistle he didn\u2019t try to play through. For proof, look no further than the first snap of last week\u2019s thriller against Baltimore. There Heyward was, chugging 30-plus yards downfield in an effort to chase down Ravens star running back Derrick Henry<\/a>.<\/p>\n Heyward\u2019s journey ended when teammate James Pierre<\/a> crashed into him, sending Heyward briefly to the bench. By the next series, he was back out there on a night he tied for the team lead with seven tackles and shoved younger brother Connor into the end zone for a touchdown while filling in as the pusher in Pittsburgh\u2019s version of the tush push.<\/p>\n \u201cHe cares hard,\u201d Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. \u201cGot big shoulders. He wants the responsibility of leading.\u201d<\/p>\n A Steeler \u2018through and through\u2019<\/p>\n It\u2019s something Heyward has never run away from. Considering the legacy of both his family \u2014 his father is former NFL running back Craig \u201cIronhead\u201d Heyward \u2014 and his predecessors in black and gold, he didn\u2019t have a choice.<\/p>\n The wide-eyed rookie who once sat rapt in meetings absorbing what he could from mentors Casey Hampton, Brett Keisel and Aaron Smith<\/a>, is now quite literally the graybeard doling out those same lessons to rookie Derrick Harmon<\/a>, who was in second grade when the Steelers selected Heyward in the first round of the 2011 draft.<\/p>\n Tomlin called Heyward a Steeler \u201cthrough and through,\u201d even if there were some who openly wondered about that during training camp, when Heyward skipped some \u2014 but not all \u2014 of the 11-on-11 sessions in search of a reworked contract. He even threatened to sit out some regular-season games before agreeing to an amended deal on the eve of the opener against the New York Jets<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHold-ins\u201d like the one Heyward staged have become increasingly common in recent years. The mixed reaction for a player so firmly entrenched in Pittsburgh \u2014 Heyward\u2019s 228 regular-season games with the club rank second to former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger \u2014 was not.<\/p>\n Asked Friday if his remarkably consistent performance on a defense that at times ran hot-cold around him was his way of silencing his critics, Heyward shrugged.<\/p>\n \u201c(If) you\u2019ve got to question (my loyalty), that\u2019s something that has to do with you rather than me,\u201d he said. \u201cI can\u2019t really concern myself with that. In the midst of what we\u2019re doing, I think the focus has just got to be on the team. And whatever is made of what happened in the past or what was going on, I care a lot about this team, and I\u2019m going to do whatever is possible for this team.\u201d<\/p>\n Namely, leading from the front. If that means throwing his little brother around in search of a first down, so be it. If it means thrusting his black-glove clad hands into the air to swat away a pass \u2014 something Heyward has done 64 times in his career \u2014 so be it. If it means imploring everyone else on the field goal protection unit to block better so kicker Chris Boswell<\/a> can do his thing, so be it.<\/p>\n High stakes<\/p>\n