Macafee: Heyward still proving his worth (and how) at age 35

Even at 35, Cam Heyward is playing at the top of his game and he's having an All-Pro season to boot. His extraordinary 14th season continued Sunday afternoon at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati against the Bengals as the wily veteran tallied five tackles, one sack, two TFLs, two quarterback hits and deflected a pass at the line of scrimmage on this game-changing play:

Through 12 games, Heyward has tallied 50 tackles, six sacks, eight TFLs, 17 quarterback hits and eight pass deflections. Heyward also recorded sack No. 86.5 against the Bengals, which is the most by a defensive lineman in franchise history, the second-most by any player in franchise history, the second-most of any active defensive tackle and the ninth-most by a defensive tackle in NFL history. Throughout his career, Heyward has been good, year in and year out, but it's because he sets a goal for himself to continue to improve each year, which is ultimately what has allowed him to have longevity at his position.

"I'm just trying to get better every year and take what I did last year and apply it to this year and that applies throughout my entire career," Heyward said. "There's always something to work on. Whether it's getting off blocks, using my hands, having better technique, or being a better student of the game. If you sit on it and just say, yea, I'm a pretty good player, what I did in the past matters, ya know, shame on you. I'm always trying to find little edges and find little keys to get better." 

That also starts with having high standards and high expectations. I asked Mike Tomlin about what he's seen Heyward accomplish throughout his career and he said it simply starts with Heyward expecting the most out of himself: "We expect it. He expects it, I just piggyback his mentality," Tomlin said. "He has ridiculously high expectations for himself, and I support that.”

Heyward was the disruptor in the backfield on multiple occasions against the Bengals, as he was able to shed multiple blockers and take down both Joe Burrow and Chase Brown in the backfield with brutal hits. His stop of Brown for a three-yard loss toward the beginning of the second quarter was one of his hardest hits of the game, but I thought his sack of Burrow showcased his true strength and ability:

Heyward did it all afternoon and was a big reason why the defense was able to step up and make big splash plays at times. But, again, that's something he's been doing his whole career, even T.J. Watt acknowledged that after the big AFC North win: "He goes out there each and every week and shows why he’s one of the best in the world.”