The Steelers have emerged victorious from their first game of a brutal second half to the 2024 season, with a 28-27 win over the Washington Commanders. Next up, Pittsburgh enters its first AFC North matchup of the year with a 7-2 record and division lead. As always, there are plenty of takeaways to be had:
A storyline entering Sunday was how the Steelers hadn't really played anyone yet despite their strong record. The Falcons and Broncos hadn't heated up yet. The Chargers were without their stars. The Raiders, Jets, and Giants are among the NFL's worst teams, and the losses to the Cowboys and Colts look worse with every week.
But the Commanders sure count as a quality win.
There will always be caveats -- in this case, the Commanders were down a number of key names on offense -- but some will never be fully satisfied until the Steelers defeat a fully-healthy Chiefs squad at Arrowhead. Defeating a 7-2 team on the road that still has its star quarterback and wide receiver should mean something. This Steelers team might just be a contender.
Russell Wilson had the Steelers' first three-passing touchdown performance since Ben Roethlisberger in 2021. Some might be overly disappointed in a defense that was certainly far from perfect, but Pittsburgh still held a team averaging 377 yards per game to 242. Pittsburgh is developing into a team that can win in every phase of the game.
Beyond that, it feels like it's been a while since Pittsburgh was playing in a marquee matchup like Sunday's with real expectations. The win made it even sweeter.
The Steelers' trade deadline acquisitions of Mike Williams and Preston Smith were universally praised, but Sunday's game proved that the high marks were warranted.
Neither player started, but both made an impact. Williams' lone catch was a game-winning 32-yard touchdown. Smith looked stout in run defense and recorded two tackles for loss.
But the trades will look even better in future games. Omar Khan's foresight to beef up the Steelers' edge depth looks even smarter now with Alex Highsmith likely to miss some time following an ankle injury. He'll likely be replaced by Nick Herbig, who's freakishly talented in his own right but a bit undersized. Smith leaves the Steelers with a bigger, run-down alternative who can help the team keep its three-outside linebacker rotation alive while Highsmith is out.
Still learning the offense, Williams didn't even reach double-digit snaps against the Commanders, but his big touchdown showed that won't be the case going forward. It'll be a massive boost for the Pittsburgh passing attack, which needs another big, sure-handed receiver like Williams. Russell Wilson wasn't pinpoint-accurate on Sunday, but he threw a number of "almost" passes, namely to Calvin Austin III and Van Jefferson, that could've been corralled by a bigger target with better ball skills. Williams still excels at contested catches and is a perfect scheme fit for Wilson's "moon ball" offense.
Williams and Smith both looked good on Sunday, but the best is yet to come.
As evidenced by the number of failed play-action rollouts in the first half, the Steelers' receivers weren't getting open as much as they should. Russell Wilson didn't play a perfect game, but he had pressure in his face all game. Pittsburgh was down by 10 at halftime on the road.
The Washington defense isn't exactly one of the NFL's best, but it wasn't exactly the easiest situation for a quarterback.
But Wilson never wavered. He calmly led his team back, orchestrating a game-winning drive capped by a touchdown play he more or less drew up for Mike Williams on the sideline.
I liked Justin Fields and still do, but there's no doubt at this point that Mike Tomlin made the right choice to switch quarterbacks in Week 7. Wilson may not have all the physical gifts he used to, but his current play is evoking levels of quarterback mastery Steelers fans haven't seen since late-career Ben Roethlisberger. He has elevated the offense to an entirely new level in 2024.
It's hard not to be underwhelmed with how the Steelers secondary handled Terry McLaurin and the Washington receiving corps on Sunday -- Joey Porter Jr. especially had one of the rougher games of his professional career up to this point.
But the run defense was a real highlight. Giving up three touchdowns on the ground obviously put a damper on things, but all came from within the ten-yard line. For the most part, Pittsburgh bottled up a top-five rushing offense, limiting the Commanders to a mere 2.7 yards per rush. Jayden Daniels, the NFL's second-leading rushing quarterback behind Lamar Jackson, was held to just five yards.
Patrick Queen was flying around the field (seven total tackles, two tackles for loss, one pass defensed) while the Pittsburgh front largely dominated the Commanders' O-line.
Next week, of course, the Baltimore Ravens are coming to town with an even more challenging run game. Mike Tomlin is already slowing down the Lamar Jackson-Jayden Daniels comparisons, and Derrick Henry is certainly a bigger threat than the Brian Robinson-less Commanders, but it's hard not to see Sunday's performance as a good sign for the matchup.
Jackson and the Ravens' rushing quarterbacks have struggled in recent years against the Steelers, and it appears Mike Tomlin hasn't lost the formula yet. Still, don't expect Week 11's matchup to be a walk in the park.
The Steelers season doesn't get any easier next week, with the 7-3 Baltimore Ravens coming to town on Nov. 17.