EDITOR'S NOTE: This is another in a series of articles looking back at some of the highlights from the 2024 season.
The Steelers acquired wide receiver Mike Williams from the New York Jets on Nov. 5 at the NFL trade deadline.
Just a few days later, the Steelers traveled to Washington to face the red-hot Commanders, who were off to a 7-2 start.
But being new to the team, Williams played sparingly in the game, seeing just eight offensive snaps in the first 56 minutes of the game.
It was his ninth offensive snap that was a game-changer.
Down 24-14 early in the third quarter, after a 1-yard Jeremy McNicholls run, the Steelers answered with a Najee Harris touchdown run to cut the lead to 24-21.
After another Washington field goal to put the Commanders ahead 27-21, the Steelers appeared to be going in for a go-ahead score, but Jaylen Warren fumbled at the goal line midway through the fourth quarter. Washington recovered the loose ball, but the defense forced a three-and-out and the Commanders punted the ball back to the Steelers
On third-and-9 from the Washington 32 with 2:27 remaining in the game, the Steelers called a timeout. Russell Wilson went to Williams and told him to line up on the left side of the formation outside the numbers. Thing was, on the particular play the Steelers were running, Calvin Austin III had been in that spot. But Austin had suffered an injury earlier in the game.
"He said, 'I want you to run this route,'" Williams recalled. "I think Calvin went out. He was running that route all week. He actually ran it earlier in the game. It was for him. He was out, so I went in there and made a play."
That he did.
Wilson dropped back and lofted the ball toward the end zone trusting Williams to get to the spot. He did.
Williams hauled the pass in for his first catch as a member of the Steelers for a 28-27 lead.
"It was a big-time catch by Mike," Wilson said. "I just tried to give him a chance and let him do his thing. The guy had you know, three-plus 1000-yard seasons over his career. A guy whose made plays, a guy who's face adversity. You love it when guys face adversity and they come through on the other end of it."
Damontae Kazee and Minkah Fitzpatrick then stopped tight end Zach Ertz short of the first-down marker on fourth-and-9 at the 50 to turn the ball over on downs.
Wilson then got the Commanders to jump offsides on fourth-and-inches and help the Steelers improve to 7-2 over a Washington team that would go on to advance to the NFC Championship.
