It was the right look. A money throw. All Pittsburgh Steelers CB James Pierre had to do was catch the ball. Instead, it hit off his hands and fell incomplete, a painful failed fake punt that set the Washington Commanders up in the red zone. Three plays later, they put the ball in the end zone and tied the game at 7.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Pierre walked through the play.
“I knew it was coming all week,” Pierre said via 93.7 The Fan. “I was practicing all week for it. I caught it all week. When it came, I was ready to go. Too ready. I was really hard on myself, but my teammates helped me out.”
On 4th and 15 in the first quarter, up back/personal protector Miles Killebrew threw to a wide-open Pierre. What should’ve been a first down and potentially a lot more, a dream for a player like Pierre turned into a nightmare.
As Pierre notes, this play wasn’t spur of the moment. It was planned and practiced. What happens in moments like these are STs Coordinator Danny Smith poring through the tape, having the bye gave him additional time, and charting tendencies. He likely saw Washington be aggressive with its jammer, bluffing or blitzing off the line and leaving the gunner uncovered. That goes into the game plan of an automatic check if and when the Steelers get that look. If the gunner is uncovered, Killebrew has the authority to check to it and throw the ball. It’s not designed or decided upon right before the unit takes the field.
Still, no matter the quality of the process, football is judged by results. Mike Tomlin and Pierre know it. Like any trick play, if it works, it’s a genius call. If it doesn’t, it’s a terrible idea that should be banished from the playbook.
Fortunately, there are silver linings. One, the Steelers won. Mistakes like these always get magnified more in losses so Pierre can sleep easy knowing it didn’t cost his team a victory. Two, Pittsburgh got its own punt luck later in the game when the Commanders muffed and fumbled away a punt. Recovered by WR Ben Skowronek, the offense punched it into the end zone. Third, Pierre broke up a third-down pass late in the game that helped stop the Commanders a final time. All of that can play into his redemption.
Teammates like Cam Heyward can act as a shoulder to lean on. This moment will still stick with Pierre. He shouldn’t check his social media mentions for a couple of days. But with CB Donte Jackson leaving with an injured hamstring, Pierre needs to turn the page to next week. Because he might end up starting against the Baltimore Ravens.
