Pittsburgh Steelers fans held their breath after Calvin Austin III’s punt-return touchdown last Monday night, Rodney Williams joining them, after spotting the yellow laundry on the field. Jeremiah Moon might have worried as well, though the officials gave him the all clear. It turned out the New York Giants were in an illegal formation, and the touchdown stood.
Williams, who threw the key block that could have easily devolved into a hold, breathed easy. Special teams coordinator Danny Smith would not ream him out, after all. Even if Williams saved his bacon last year, if he took away a Calvin Austin touchdown, he would be toast.
“Most definitely. That probably would’ve been the last time y’all saw me out there”, Williams told Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Williams, who has started each of the last two seasons on the practice squad, is a core “teamer”, under Smith’s watchful eye. He has played 105 snaps on special teams in the six games since the Steelers called him up after logging 189 in 2023.
Danny Smith had not had a punt return for a touchdown since Diontae Johnson took one back as a rookie in 2019. He had been trying to pop one for Calvin Austin since the Steelers drafted him in 2022, a long time coming.
While Austin has often looked threatening on punt returns, he has had few opportunities to break free. He finally had that chance last Monday, and Rodney Williams was the difference. He had to execute his assignment on the perimeter very gingerly, but he successfully avoided a hold. And the play ended with Danny Smith sharing a special moment with his return man after he got back to the sideline.
That punt-return touchdown gave the Steelers a lead they would not relinquish, flipping the momentum of the game. And it is yet another example of how every player on any given play can be important because Austin might not get the edge there if Rodney Williams doesn’t make his block. And it wouldn’t have mattered at all if he made his block by holding.
As for Williams, well, he is one of five tight ends on the 53-man roster, but of course is really serving at the pleasure of Danny Smith. The Steelers continue to be one of the franchises that commits most strongly to special teams. This year, we are seeing that truly pay off with weekly difference-making plays.
