Heyward ‘sets the tone’ for defense that overwhelmed Minnesota

Joe Greene, the Steelers Hall of Fame defensive tackle, was on hand against the Minnesota Vikings to help celebrate the memory of the late Dan Rooney and serve as honorary captain before the game.

For most of the game, the Vikings must have felt as if Greene were still playing for the Steelers. At least, it certainly looked that way every time they tried to block defensive end Cam Heyward.

“Cam makes it happen,” said inside linebacker Ryan Shazier.

“He’s pretty much unstoppable,” added inside linebacker Vince Williams.

“It doesn’t matter who we play,” said defensive end Tyson Alualu. “They’re going to have a hard time blocking Cam.”

The Vikings and their rebuilt offensive line couldn’t quite figure out how to control Heyward, especially in the first half when he was putting on a performance that looked a whole lot like the way Greene dismantled offensive lines in the 1970s.

Heyward had six tackles before halftime, including two for negative yards, another for zero yards and still another for just 1 yard. That’s four plays against the run that netted the Vikings a total of minus-6 yards.

On top of that, he had two hurries on Vikings quarterback Case Keenum, who was filling in for injured Sam Bradford (knee).

It was a stirring performance on an emotionally stirring day as the Steelers celebrated the memory of their beloved former chairman.

“I’m always fired up,” said Heyward, the defensive captain. “It’s the season opener, I got to play for Mr. Rooney. He wasn’t here and we missed him out there. I thought we played with energy.”

Thanks to Heyward, the Steelers did. They limited the Vikings to 237 yards offense – same total they allowed against the Browns – and held them without a touchdown.

Even though they managed just two sacks, five fewer than they Cam Heyward tackles the Vikings’ Jerick McKinnon. With Joe Greene at the game to honor the late Dan Rooney, Heyward did a passable imitation of the Hall of Famer. had in Cleveland, the Steelers still managed to generate sufficient pressure for the second game in a row.

That kept Keenum from going downfield to his big-play receiver, Stefon Diggs, who had just two catches for 27 yards after catching a pair of touchdowns in the season opener against New Orleans.

Bud Dupree, playing his first game of the season, had one of the sacks and brought continual pressure off the edge. And Williams had the other, several times shooting through gaps caused by Heyward.

“That’s the reason why Cam Heyward is the captain,” Williams said. “The man sets the tone and we follow it.”

Playing without his bookend partner, Stephon Tuitt (biceps), Heyward wasted little time setting the tone. On the Vikings’ fourth play of the game, guard Nick Easton was penalized for holding Heyward, wiping out an 8-yard gain. Two plays later, Heyward and Alualu stopped running back Jerick McKinnon for no gain, eventually forcing a punt.

Next possession, Heyward dropped rookie running Dalvin Cook for a 4-yard loss on first down. Second down, he stopped Cook for a 1-yard gain, forcing another punt. And it just kind of went from there.

After getting 23 first downs in Week 1 against New Orleans, the Vikings managed just 14 against the Steelers, five in the first half.

“That’s what he’s been doing since he’s been in the league,” said Alualu, who started for Tuitt, of Heyward.

“When he plays like that, it allows us to flow and get over the top,” Shazier said. “It just destroys their plays and makes our job a lot easier.”

Heyward was asked if he were trying to set a tone because the Steelers were without Tuitt.

“I’m trying to set the tone, period,” Heyward said. “Whenever we’re out there, as a defensive lineman, we want to set the tempo. We want to see if they want to test us.”

If they did, Heyward passed the test, in true Joe Greene fashion.