Nobody thought much of it when the Cincinnati Bengals waived Trenton Irwin and signed Shaka Heyward to the active roster last month.

After all, Heyward was an undrafted free agent out of Duke University and had languished on the Bengals’ practice squad since he came into the league in 2023. Everyone knows his cousin, perennial All-Pro defensive tackle Cameron Heyward of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But Shaka? Sure, he was a standout for the Blue Devils and finished with 93 tackles, six passes defensed, and six tackles for loss as a senior and was named honorable mention All-ACC. He has good size at 6-foot-2, 235 pounds, and great speed (4.53 40-time) with elite length (34-inch arms). But this is the NFL.

Well, Shaka got his chance to shine in Week 18 against his cousin’s team, and he made the most of it. Heyward forced a fumble on a punt return in the second quarter and was Cincinnati’s leading tackler in the first half with four, including a tackle for loss.

“Our defensive young guys, and guys that have played good in the past, have started playing well,” quarterback Joe Burrow said after the game. “Then, Trey Hendrickson — after tonight, I don’t know who else is going to win Defensive Player of the Year other than him. He was incredible tonight. Anytime that he didn’t have chip help, he was getting to the quarterback.”

It wasn’t long ago that Hendrickson was just about the only player on the defense who was playing well. In fact, after the week 13 loss to the Steelers that saw Russell Wilson pass for 414 yards, more than one publication had the Bengals rated as the worst defense in the league.

Ranked No. 32 overall with a record of 4-8, who could argue?

Cincinnati did not make the playoffs, but it finished the season with five straight wins and beat two winning teams in the process. The only thing that really changed was the defense.

Through Week 17, the Bengals had moved up to No. 27 in total defense and were No. 24 in passing defense and No. 21 in rushing defense – not what we all expected at the beginning of the year, but a marked improvement over what had been.

And while a lot of the new-found success was attributable to Hendrickson, who almost certainly will finish as the league leader in sacks at 17.5, the rest of the unit started finding their way, as well. Cincinnati held Pittsburgh to 193 yards of total offense, including just 74 yards on the ground.

“There are ten other guys who complete this defense,” Hendrickson said.

There may only be 11 starters, but in the win against Pittsburgh, there were 21 players who made an impact. And Heyward was one of them.