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Ron Cook: Steelers defense shows improvement, but much work remains

At just 26, in his fifth NFL season, with 32 starts under his sizable belt, Cam Heyward already gets it. His perspective on the Steelers defense and its role in a surprisingly easy 43-18 win Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers is right on.

“It’s a start,” Heyward said. “We can’t say, ‘Oh, we just won the Super Bowl off of one game.’ It’s just a start.”

A much different start, though, from the one the Steelers defense had in the opening-game loss at New England. That night, it seemed like a beginning, all right. … The beginning of the end of the season.