Mike Williams is having more fun in one game with the Pittsburgh Steelers than he had during his entire nine-game stint with the New York Jets. He’s also been more productive. Williams logged only nine snaps and made one catch during his Sunday debut, but he made it count. A 32-yard touchdown for the game-winning score to lift the Steelers over the Washington Commanders, 28-27. It was longer than any catch he had with New York and was his first touchdown of the season. Feeling good off the victory, leave it to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio to take a dig at Williams’ former quarterback in Aaron Rodgers.
“You have a quarterback who’s willing to trust his receivers,” Florio said via Football Night In America Sunday night. “And not worry about completion percentage like certain other quarterbacks who played with Mike Williams do. Or touchdown-to-interception ratio. None of that matters. We’re just trying to win games.”
To be clear, this is all Florio’s thoughts, and nothing expressed by Williams. But there’s little question Williams is in a better mood waking up in Pittsburgh today than any Monday he had with New York since the season began. With the Jets, Williams was hardly used, experienced a coaching change (his second in two years after the Los Angeles Chargers fired Brandon Staley midway through last season), and was called out by Rodgers for running an incorrect route in a primetime loss to the Buffalo Bills.
It was no secret Williams was on the trading block and happy to find an exit out of New York. After spending months searching for a receiver, the Steelers sent a 2025 fifth-round pick to the Jets hours before last Tuesday’s deadline. Pittsburgh had a small menu of plays for him against the Commanders but made them count. Replacing an injured Calvin Austin III, Williams stacked the corner and made an impressive over-the-shoulder grab for the go-ahead touchdown.
For Williams to be traded days earlier, come off the bench cold, and make a tougher-than-it-looks catch in the game’s biggest moment is impressive. And he received plenty of love from his new teammates after the play. Even the normally even-keeled Russell Wilson was fired up about it, celebrating on the field and calling him a “6-5 monster” postgame.
Williams’ role should only expand as he gets integrated into the system and starts picking up the nuances of the offense. So far, the early returns are already justifying the trade as Pittsburgh’s quarterback – and team – is all smiles after another win. In New York, the Jets are just about ready to start packing in the season.
