LANDOVER HILLS, Md. — Anyone who questioned Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin’s switch to Russell Wilson from Justin Fields might be reconsidering the wisdom of the move right about now. Wilson is looking like the guy who was a star earlier in his career — especially with those 50-50 deep balls he keeps connecting on.
Wilson shook off his first interception in 11 months and hit trade-deadline pickup Mike Williams for a 32-yard touchdown with less than 2 1/2 minutes left in the fourth quarter for the quarterback’s third scoring throw Sunday, lifting the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 28-27 comeback victory over Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders.
“I’ve seen it a few times on highlights,” Tomlin said of Wilson’s ability to complete the big play, something that helped the QB win one Super Bowl and reach another with the Seattle Seahawks. “It’s a little better in person. Believe me.”
Coming off a bye, the AFC North-leading Steelers (7-2) won their fourth game in a row, including all three since Wilson took over from Fields. Wilson’s stats were not the prettiest on Sunday, but he got the job done: 14 for 28 for 195 yards, the three TDs and the one pick.
“It was a big-time catch by Mike. I just tried to give him a chance, let him do his thing,” Wilson said about Williams, acquired last week from the New York Jets. “You visualize those moments and what could happen and just trusting guys. That was all Big Mike there.”
George Pickens delivered an acrobatic catch in the end zone on a 16-yarder in the first quarter, and tight end Pat Freiermuth scored on a pass from 3 yards out in the second, much to the delight of the thousands of Terrible Towel-twirling Steelers fans in the stands.
Washington (7-3) led 24-14 but couldn’t hold on as it attempted to get to 8-2 overall for the first time since 1986 and 5-0 at home for the first time since 1991, when the team went on to win the Super Bowl under coach Joe Gibbs.
“Too many small mistakes,” defensive end Clelin Ferrell said.
Daniels, the No. 2 overall draft pick who has starred for first-year coach Dan Quinn, was 17 for 34 for 202 yards without a touchdown or interception. He also had three carries for 5 yards, his lowest output as a pro, while still dealing with a rib injury that he described as “still there, but it’s nothing that’s holding me back.”
As for watching his counterpart Wilson, Daniels observed: “He made plays when the plays needed to be made.”
Never more so than on the over-the-shoulder toss to Williams — his only catch of the game — to turn a six-point deficit into a one-point lead for the visitors.
Pickens’ take on what Wilson showed there?
“That’s one of his biggest components of his game: trusting his receivers,” Pickens said.
After that play, Daniels moved Washington to midfield. On fourth-and-9 with less than 1 1/2 minutes to go, Daniels connected with Zach Ertz, but the catch was ruled just short of a first down; until then, the Commanders were 11 for 11 on fourth down this season.
On the ensuing possession, Pittsburgh faced a fourth-and-1 at Washington’s 49 with 1:02 on the clock and decided to line up as if to go for it. But Wilson’s hard count got rookie defensive lineman Johnny Newton to jump too soon, and the penalty allowed the Steelers to keep the ball and run out the clock.
This was far from a perfect performance by Pittsburgh, though.
Commanders safety Jeremy Chinn picked off Wilson late in the third quarter and recovered Jaylen Warren’s fumble at the 1-yard line in the fourth.
The worst turnover by the Steelers had to be the fake punt deep in its own territory in the first quarter. The snap went to up-back Miles Killebrew, who threw to a wide-open James Pierre, but he dropped the ball. That gave Washington possession at Pittsburgh’s 15, and three plays later, Austin Ekeler scored the first of his two short touchdowns runs.
“That is me. I own that. I’ll do it again,” Tomlin said. “But we didn’t execute it, so it was a bad idea.”
