The fact that he was so pumped about Darnell Washington catching a touchdown pass is further proof that former Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger is now just a random Yinzer fan albeit one with millions of dollars and a podcast. Many Yinzers have podcasts, of course, but not many of them have millions to throw at them.
Anyway, the point is Roethlisberger was excited to see the Steelers use Washington in the red zone, which is the same feeling many Steelers fans had in that moment as well. He caught the team’s first touchdown of the year, in fact, the first of his career.
“We’ve been clamoring for Darnell Washington to get some more work”, Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast. He spent time breaking down the Steelers’ win as a whole and praised the tight end’s effort on that play.
“They split him out [Sunday]”, he said of Washington on his touchdown. “He ran a patient fade. A lot of times guys want to just go. He took his time. Justin [Fields] threw a great, high, back-shoulder ball, and the big fella adjusted, made the catch, got the touchdown”.
The Steelers reached the red zone twice in the season opener, but could not punch it in. In Sunday’s game, they went 1-for-2, but that’s a seismic improvement—thanks to Darnell Washington. “That’s what I wanted to see down there”, Roethlisberger said, noting their discussion of the Steelers’ red-zone issues from the opener. “They got down there [Sunday], they score a touchdown. That’s what you want to see”.
A 2023 third-round pick, Darnell Washington stands 6-7, weighing 264 pounds. He is a sizeable presence and a source of amusement standing next to the 5-9 Calvin Austin III. While he isn’t the spryest of athletes, and his knees are questionable, he can certainly box out a defender.
That is what he did on his touchdown albeit with a bit of finesse. As Roethlisberger noted, Washington stayed patient, committing to the route and driving the defender into the end zone before breaking to the target area. In doing so, he ensured that only he would have a chance at catching the pass, which he did with able hands.
The Steelers need to improve their red-zone offense as a whole. Having a big body as a threat down there would help, with Washington a potential option. They are still not using Pat Freiermuth as much as most would like, and that includes red-zone targets. They just paid him like a top-10 tight end, so they might as well act like he is one.
But at the end of the day, whether it’s Freiermuth or Washington or Matt Sokol, the Steelers only care about scoring points and preventing their opponents from scoring. If Arthur Smith thinks Washington can help them when the spaces get short, he will see more targets.
