If Cam Heyward hits you, it’s not going to feel good. Cincinnati Bengals RB Chase Brown didn’t just feel the hit. He could see it, too. Brown told the story of getting popped by Heyward on the goal line last season, a collision that left a literal impression.
“Probably the hardest I’ve ever been hit in my career,” Brown told Jordan Schultz and Draymond Green on their podcast that showed a clip of the play. “I was wearing a necklace. The necklace was stamped on my neck after I got hit.”
Brown popped off one long run in that game but was otherwise bottled up and held to 70 yards for the day. Pittsburgh won that battle and the war, coming out on top 44-38 in a rare shootout for the team.
“It was indented in my neck,” Brown said of his necklace.
Heyward remains one of the NFL’s top defensive linemen. Though his sacks are down this season, his run defense is elite. Power has always been his trademark whether it’s anchoring against double-teams or pushing linemen into the quarterback’s lap.
“That’s the hardest I’ve been hit, for sure,” Brown said.
Heyward’s career is full of these types of hits. One of the hardest he ever had came against former Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield. With Mayfield stood up in the pocket, Heyward ran in free to knock him down.
Brown is done facing Heyward this season. He ran well in the first matchup and busted out for his first and, so far, only 100-yard performance. A game in which Steelers defenders admitted they didn’t spend enough time preparing for the run. Pittsburgh did a better job bottling him up in last Sunday’s rematch, though Brown’s speed still showed on a handful of runs.
Under contract through 2026 and likely to play it out, Heyward and Brown will meet two more times next season. Once Heyward hangs up his cleats, there will be a sigh of relief in Cincinnati. Until then, Brown might want to leave the jewelry on the sidelines.
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