Thanksgiving, Detroit in 1998. Jerome Bettis’ coin flip call created controversy that still lives on today. Sunday in Detroit, Cam Heyward’s comments were less debatable. But they were incorrect. In a moment to laugh at after one of the most exciting wins the Pittsburgh Steelers have had in recent memory, Heyward admitted he erred on the opening coin toss.
“I was supposed to take the ball, and I deferred,” Heyward told reporters after the Steelers’ 29-24 win via the team’s YouTube channel. “And [teammates] gave me a lot of shit for it. But we were able to correct that throughout the game. And it kind of paid dividends that we were able to double dip before the half and get the ball.”
As one of the team captains, Heyward takes to midfield each game for the coin toss and with his tenure and louder personality, as he’s noted in the past, he makes the call for the coin toss. Pittsburgh won the toss and deferred to the second half instead of the more aggressive decision to receive the kickoff, a choice the Steelers have made more often in recent weeks as the offense has picked up its play.
Speaking post-game, Aaron Rodgers joked about the moment.
“I figured that I missed a side conversation between him and Mike T[omlin],” Rodgers told reporters via the team’s YouTube channel. “Because Mike T came to me and said, ‘Are you good if we take the ball?’ I said, ‘Yeah, for sure.’ So we went out there and Cam, he’s real territorial about, he’s the one who gets to call it. And so I’m fine. I don’t care.
“But we win the toss and he goes, ‘Defer.’ I looked at him, I said, ‘What?’ in my head. I didn’t say it out loud ’cause I was like, I don’t want to act like I wasn’t in the conversation. And we jogged over and he said, ‘I blacked out.’ I said, ‘Hey Head, I thought we were taking the ball? He goes, ‘I blacked out.’”
Fortunately, the decision didn’t allow Detroit to get going early. Despite prospects of an offensive shootout from the beginning, the first 25 minutes proved to be a defensive struggle. The Lions went three-and-out to start the game. Pittsburgh walked away with a field goal on its first possession while Detroit turned the ball over on downs to end the quarter, throwing incomplete on 4th and goal.
While Heyward goofed before the game kicked off, his play once it started was its usual excellent self. He recorded his second sack in as many games and contributed stout run defense to take away the Lions’ potent rushing attack. Detroit finished with just 15 yards on 12 carries.
If anything, Heyward’s mistake worked in the Steelers’ favor. Pittsburgh’s defense set the tone early. And though Detroit made its expected batch of offensive plays late in the game, it was the defense that called game to seal the win.