Cam Heyward: 2017 was the last year the Steelers were real contenders, Shazier's injury “threw us off track”

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been making the playoffs more frequently recently, but they haven't been Super Bowl contenders for a few years now. They haven't won a single playoff game since 2016, so the postseason has been difficult for the Steelers. Despite these difficulties, however, Cam Heyward believes it wasn't that long ago that they had a real chance to win the Lombardi Trophy.

When Heyward spoke to the media after practice on Monday, he was asked which year he thought the Steelers had the best chance to win the Super Bowl since he was hired in 2011.

“I think either [2016] or [2017]”, Heyward said via Steelers Live on Twitter. “[In 2016]I was hurt. [In 2017], [Ryan Shazier] was injured. When [Shazier] went down, we were the top-rated defense at the time and that kind of threw us off track. Hopefully we have something this year that can compete with that.”

2016 was the last time the Steelers won a playoff game. They made it to the AFC Championship after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs. However, they were crushed by the New England Patriots, losing 36-17. This is the closest the Steelers have been to a Super Bowl since they were actually in the big dance in 2010, and not since.

This team had the misfortune of playing against Tom Brady in 2016 when he was the best player in the world, so it's understandable why they lost. The 2017 team, on the other hand, had a much worse ending.

Heyward is right that Shazier, a super-athletic linebacker and then-quarterback of the Steelers defense, had to end his career in 2017. This tragic accident left a huge gap in the middle of the defense, and the Steelers could not find an adequate replacement for Shazier.

The Steelers went 13-3 that year but lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the playoffs. It was one of the worst losses in recent playoff history for the Steelers, especially since they were expecting to win the Super Bowl. However, according to Heyward, the team seems to have been too shaken up after the Shazier incident to get back on track.

This year, however, could be different. Even though they are not championship contenders, the Steelers could win a playoff game this year and that would be a step in the right direction. Even if you make the playoffs, anything can happen. The 2016 and 2017 teams weren't perfect either. This isn't a team, really. It's just about being good enough at the right time.