The Pittsburgh Steelers enjoyed their time in the sun with a well-placed mid-season bye to refresh their minds and bodies while still hoping to keep their momentum intact. This calming break from the action will be harshly replaced with an ice bath of cold reality as they head into the vicinity of the nation’s capital to take on the Washington Commanders, one of the year’s biggest surprises.
The Commanders boast a 7-2 record compared to the Steelers’ 6-2, yet the collective NFL punditry takes neither team too seriously.
This lack of respect should change for one of the two teams by the time the clock winds down at the end of this matchup. The loser will have to sit at the kids’ table for Thanksgiving.
Who will win this intriguing contest and rub shoulders with the rest of the league’s top contenders? For insights on this and more, let’s give it a Spin.
Trade Value
The Steelers waited until just before the carriage turned into a pumpkin with two last-minute trades right at the NFL deadline on Tuesday.
They bartered with the Green Bay Packers for 32-year-old edge rusher Preston Smith in exchange for a 7th-round pick in next year’s draft. They also gave away another future selection by trading the New York Jets for 30-year-old wide receiver Mike Williams, this time for a 5th-rounder.
Was this mortgaging of the not-too-distant future a good decision by the Steelers brass?
The Smith trade was a fiscal maneuver for the Packers, with their former aging star set to have his cap hit escalate dramatically next season. For the Steelers, it provides some additional depth for their defense, especially in a position where they’ve struggled with injuries.
From the Jet’s perspective, they scored big in getting a fifth-round draft pick in exchange for Williams, a player they had buyer’s remorse on after determining he was running thin on career tread. They probably experienced the kind of rush you get when that truck pulls away from the garage sale, toting away your old couch.
The Steelers obviously believe they’ll be able to ameliorate their wide receiver deficiencies with a player like Williams by putting his 6’4” frame and leaping ability to work in chasing down Russell Wilson’s patented deep moon balls.
For me, I’ll lean somewhat on the words of his former quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, as he discussed the trade with Pat McAfee.
Rodgers referenced Williams’ ACL injury last year and complimented him on his hard work towards recovery. Then he followed this up by hinting that the new Steelers wide receiver was still working to regain his speed…and confidence.
Many Steelers fans are excited about Williams’ ability to stretch out the field for the team, but the player who was drafted 7th overall in the 2021 draft by the Los Angeles Chargers was never a flatline speedster. At his fastest, he was in the 4.5 40-yard dash range.
If he’s lost a step or two from that baseline, it could be the Steelers took the wrong bait. Especially since they had to give up a fifth-round pick for a player they’ll only have for half a season as he becomes a free agent again in March.
It feels like the Steelers, who seemed desperate to pick up another wide receiver, were like that high school kid who waits too long to get his courage up to invite a date to the Prom. You must still pay for that fancy dinner for someone you wouldn’t want to kiss.
Wilson probably is hoping he’s getting a version of D.K. Metcalf-lite. After fully accessing the receiver room of the Steelers, he no doubt said something to Coach Mike Tomlin in the vein of, “How am I supposed to make chicken soup out of this?… I’m a cook, not a magician.”
Time will tell if this move allows the Steelers to keep up with the arms race with their bitter foes, the Baltimore Ravens. But it looks more like the Jets got the gold mine, and we got the shaft.
I can almost imagine Aaron Rodgers glancing across the field to Tomlin…and giving him a wink.
Running Wild
The Steelers hope the team’s offense will continue to grow as a healthy Russell Wilson gets more time to interact with his wide receivers.
Yet perhaps the biggest margin for improvement for the offense is not in their passing performance but with the running game.
Say what? Aren’t we already running impressively? Isn’t Najee Harris having one of the best years of his tenure in Pittsburgh?
Both of those statements are indeed true. Harris is strongly influencing the team’s success, and they’ve performed well above the line running the ball.
Yet, their success has been mostly sans Jaylen Warren’s talents. Warren has been a shadow of his last year’s self, slowed down by injuries. That would be the self that had many experts comparing him to Austin Ekeler in his prime.
It was commonly uttered that Warren was the team’s most gifted running back last season.
If Warren can regain his full health and get some more rock time…then look out! He offers such a contrasting style of play to what Harris provides that playing defense against the Steelers would be that much more challenging. He also offers more consistent splash ability at the running back position.
Having the two of them at the top of their games would be game-changing for the offense.
Hopefully, Warren will be able to leverage this bye so that he explodes out of the gates and all the way through the rest of the season. If he can, the Steelers’ running game can shift to a much higher gear—maybe the kind of gear that could take them deep through the playoffs.
Middle Of It All
The Steelers play two games in a row that will put their re-engineered middle linebacking squad to the ultimate test.
Patrick Queen’s acquisition in free agency in the offseason was wildly hailed as the golden missing puzzle piece of the Steelers’ defense.
So far, he hasn’t won over Steelers Nation in convincing fashion, although he’s served as at least a steady performer through the first half of the season.
Yet, steady won’t pay the bills against the Washington Commanders or the following week against the Baltimore Ravens as they collectively represent the two top running teams in the NFL, with the two top running quarterbacks in the league.
Queen was brought to the Steelers just for these kinds of games. He is intended to influence these matchups.
Impressive rookie Payton Wilson is aiding him in this effort. He has been proving (much as Hines Ward did many years earlier) that ACLs are highly overrated.
With Queen’s reputation as a speedy, athletic linebacker and Wilson blessed with even more quickness, both of them will play central roles in the central part of the field.
If they lose the middle ground, the Steelers will lose both games.
They’ll need every aspect of their speed and agility to keep up with Washington’s rookie phenom Jayden Daniels and the following week against two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson of the Ravens.
There is no greater battle to be won.
Commanding Attention
The Steelers will be tempted to be distracted by the shiny new objects in the building. They still haven’t completely removed the wrapping off their refurbished NFL quarterback Russell Wilson and will want to see what he can do once they really let him cook.
And, of course, they’ll want a chance to show off their latest acquisition in Mike Williams and plead their case on the field for the wisdom of their fairly pricey move.
But some temptations, like eating ice cream directly out of its container with a large spoon, must be overcome. This, too, is certainly the case against the Commanders.
That’s because Washington is vulnerable against the running game, having given up an average of more than 142 yards per game.
The Steelers come into this game with the 8th-ranked rushing offense, and they stand positioned to improve in this area with the return of their rookie center Zach Frazier from injury and, expectantly, with an ascending contribution from Jaylen Warren.
Wilson runs play-action as well as any other quarterback in the league, so if the team is patient in battering their opponent with large chunks of turf, their opportunities to exploit an overreacting defense will be rich and rewarding.
And it might even invite Mike Williams to the party in style.
Pittsburgh is off to a strong start this season, but that’s exactly what it is to date—a start.
The real games…the ones that matter the most when the tundra gets frozen, are about to begin.
The Steelers will emerge from the bye to begin a long run or be exposed early as also-rans.
It’s a commanding performance against the Commanders—time for truths to be told.
