After seeing their lead shrink to six points and facing a third-and-8 on the Browns' 41-yard line, the Steelers could have played conservatively, tried to pick up a couple of yards and hoped Chris Boswell nailed a long field goal to make it a two-score game again.
Instead, a couple of rookies connected deep in what would be the game-clinching drive in a 28-14 Steelers win over the Browns at Acrisure Stadium Sunday.
After Pat Freiermuth exited with a knee injury earlier in the drive, Connor Heyward slid into one of the tight end spots and made a leaping grab to snag Kenny Pickett's throw up the middle for 27 huge yards:
"Connor did a great job of adjusting his route and splitting the safeties," Pickett said. "I just had to put it over the top of the guy covering him."
The key is Heyward beating A.J. Green off the line, giving him a step on the cornerback. With safety Grant Delpit following Pickett's eyes on the first read, Green didn't get help from his safeties until Heyward had created some separation, giving Pickett a window to throw into.
"It felt really good," Heyward told DK Pittsburgh Sports. "... Kenny did a good job putting the ball in a perfect area."
Three plays later, Pickett and Heyward again burned Green on a third-and-8, converting to set up a first-and-goal. The duo nearly converted later in the drive for a touchdown, but the drive would eventually be capped with a Derek Watt rush up the middle.
Even if he didn't find the end zone Sunday, Heyward has had a knack for making impact plays in his rookie year in a variety of different ways, whether it was the clinching jet sweep against the Raiders in Week 16 or his 45-yard catch-and-run against the Buccaneers in Week 6.
"We're kind of just figuring out what he can do," Pickett said. "You can really move him around everywhere. That's what makes him dangerous."
That's one of the reasons why he's considered to be part of this young core of offensive players who the Steelers are banking on improving next year. He's banking on it, too.
"Just continue to get better," Heyward said. "I want to see the jump from this year to next year with me, our position group and our offense. I think that will help the whole team because you had a lot of guys on offense at the skill positions that are young. But going into next year, we're not young anymore, and I think we all know that."
