Thanks to Calvin Austin III, the Pittsburgh Steelers won a game comfortably for the first time since before Christmas. On Dec. 23 last year in Week 16, they handily beat the Cincinnati Bengals. Since then, and largely prior to that, they have been duking it out in one-score games.
The Steelers beat the Falcons in the season opener by a score of 18-10, Atlanta threatening until the end. And Pittsburgh only got a field goal to make it an eight-point margin with 29 seconds left. Austin had one catch for seven yards in that game.
A week later, the Steelers held the Broncos to six points but scored all of 13 themselves. Austin caught just one pass in that one for six yards, not exactly a difference maker. But he certainly made a difference yesterday, helping break the game open in the fourth quarter. With the Steelers hanging onto a 13-10 lead, he scored on a 55-yard catch-and-run, his second explosive-play touchdown of his young career.
While Austin is incredibly fast, he is not a machine. Asked after the game if he was worried the Chargers might catch him, he said, “I didn’t think so, but boy, I was tired, I won’t lie. I was feeling it’, via Aaron Becker of Yardbarker on X. “But I know I had some extra blocking out there, too. Once I saw the end zone, I knew I was gonna get there somehow”.
The Steelers selected Calvin Austin III in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He spent his rookie season on the Reserve/Injured List, and did not play a big role last season. But he showed off his speed on a 72-yard touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders, which is what drew teams’ attention.
It might actually surprise you to know that this is Austin’s fourth touchdown of his NFL career. Best known for his 72-yard touchdown early last season, he also recorded a rushing touchdown. He had a second receiving touchdown in their postseason loss, and now adds yesterday’s 55-yarder.
But he is not so touchdown-rich that he had any willingness to fall short of the end zone on that play. Up to that point in the game, Calvin Austin had two catches for 33 yards. That 55-yarder certainly helped boost his stats, and he added another seven-yard catch later. He finished the day with four catches for 95 yards, the highest yardage total by a Steeler this season.
To his credit, Austin has at least looked threatening on punt returns so far this season. The Steelers are unfortunately doing him no favors, negating a good return or two via penalty. In the first two games, he officially returned a league-leading nine for 74 yards. He added two more returns yesterday for 20 yards with five fair catches.
The Steelers have been waiting for receivers other than George Pickens to emerge to help this offense. Both Austin and Scotty Miller made some plays yesterday, and against a quality defense. That doesn’t magically solve all their problems, but it puts more plays on tape for opposing defensive coordinators to consider.
