Steelers overcome 10-point deficit to hand Commanders their 1st home loss on late TD

LANDOVER, Md. — Mike Tomlin vowed to be aggressive in pursuit of victory, so he took ownership of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ shortcomings. The coach even joked he was a “degenerate” for taking calculated risks in critical moments.

After surviving a failed fake punt in the first half and a fourth-quarter fumble at the 1-yard line, the Steelers saved their biggest bets for the final three minutes to overcome a 10-point deficit against a Washington Commanders team that hadn’t lost at home this season.

With the game on the line, Tomlin took his biggest gamble and hit jackpot. The Steelers coach turned to newly acquired Mike Williams, who had spent the majority of his debut on the sideline, picking the perfect moment to initiate the 6-foot-3, 220-pound wide receiver into the offense.

“We didn’t want him standing with us at the weightiest of moments,” Tomlin said of Williams, acquired from the New York Jets for a 2025 fifth-round pick at Tuesday’s trade deadline.

Not that the Steelers had much choice. The play was originally designed for Calvin Austin III, but he had left the game with an injury.

Russell Wilson lofted a picturesque 32-yard fade pass to Williams just beyond the left pylon for the go-ahead touchdown with 2 minutes, 22 seconds remaining in a 28-27 comeback victory over the Commanders on Sunday afternoon before 66,192 at Northwest Stadium.

“I’ve seen it a few times on highlight shows,” Tomlin said of Wilson’s pass. “It’s a little better in person, believe me.”

The Steelers (7-2) clinched their fourth consecutive victory by doing something no team had accomplished this season: Stop Washington on fourth down. The Commanders were a perfect 11 of 11 this season in such situations, until their final offensive snap of the game.

With a fourth-and-9 at midfield, rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels threw an 8-yard pass over the middle to Zach Ertz but safeties Minkah Fitzpatrick and Damontae Kazee tackled the tight end short of the first-down marker with 1:18 remaining.

Where the Commanders had only 13 three-and-outs through their first nine games, they had five against the Steelers. Washington converted 35.7% (5 of 14) of its third-down attempts.

“We did a lot today that they weren’t accustomed to,” Tomlin said. “That was an agenda of ours. They’re a dangerous group. They’re a hot group. But we want to be the firemen. We want to put that stuff out.”

The defense contained the dual-threat Daniels, who completed 17 of 34 passes for 202 yards but rushed for only 5 yards on three carries. Most of his damage involved wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who had five catches for 113 yards, though almost half of that total came on one play.

The Steelers started the scoring with a seven-play, 70-yard drive that benefited from Washington pass interference and roughing the passer penalties with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to George Pickens for a 7-0 lead at 8:33 of the first quarter.

Pickens, who had five receptions for 91 yards, was breaking toward the right corner of the end zone but adjusted to Wilson’s inside throw to make a spectacular twisting catch with Commanders cornerback Noah Igbinoghene in coverage.

“He’s one of the best receivers in the National Football League,” Wilson said. “I gave him a chance to make a great play, put it in his vicinity.”

After blocking three kicks and returning a punt for a touchdown in the past four games, the bubble burst on the Steelers’ luck on special teams late in the first quarter. On fourth-and-15 at their own 16, they ran a fake punt with disastrous results. Personal protector Miles Killebrew stepped in front of the snap and lofted a pass toward a wide-open James Pierre on the left sideline, only for Pierre to drop the ball at the first-down marker.

“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. But our guys fought. They didn’t blink.”

After the turnover on downs, Washington needed only three plays to score on Austin Ekeler’s 1-yard run to tie the score at 7-7 with 3:44 remaining in the first quarter.

The Steelers’ punt-coverage unit quickly compensated for that mistake when Olamide Zaccheaus muffed a Corliss Waitman punt, and Ben Skowronek — activated Saturday after being out since Week 2 with a shoulder injury — recovered at the Washington 14. Wilson connected with tight end Pat Freiermuth for an 8-yard pass for a first down and again on third-and-goal for a 5-yard touchdown toss to take a 14-7 lead at 10:28 of the second quarter.

The Commanders took advantage of a 23-yard pass interference penalty against Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. to set up a Zane Gonzalez 48-yard field goal that cut it to 14-10 with 8:11 left in the half.

Penalties continued to punish the Steelers, and Washington took advantage with a 15-play, 94-yard scoring drive to start a 14-point swing. Porter was called for a facemask that negated Alex Highsmith’s sack of Daniels at the Washington 5 and instead gave the Commanders a first down at the 31. After three third-down conversions, including a 23-yard pass to Luke McCaffrey, Porter was called for another pass interference penalty. That set up Ekeler’s 1-yard run with 16 seconds left to give the Commanders a 17-14 halftime lead.

Washington started the second half with Daniels finding McLaurin on a post pattern for the 54-yard gain. Fitzpatrick whiffed on a tackle, but Porter chased McLaurin down at the 17. Daniels found McLaurin for a 16-yard pass to set up a 1-yard scoring run by Jeremy McNichols to give the Commanders a 24-14 lead.

“Those 14 points really changed the texture of the game,” Tomlin said. “But you live, man. You can’t come into hostile environments versus good people and not be aggressive. We aggressively pursue victory. We’re not going to live in our fears. That’s just how we get down.”

The Steelers answered with a 75-yard scoring drive highlighted by big plays. The first was a 26-yard pass to Jaylen Warren to the Washington 36. The second came after Wilson was dropped for a 10-yard sack. Wilson tossed a sidearm pass to Pickens, who bounced off a defender and gained 34 yards. Najee Harris scored on a 2-yard run to cut it to 24-21 with 8:06 left in the third quarter.

The Commanders pinned the Steelers deep in their own territory with a punt, then took advantage of good field position to extend their lead to 27-21 on a 41-yard field goal by Gonzalez with 2:51 left in the third.

Wilson attempted to throw deep to Pickens but the pass was intercepted by strong safety Jeremy Chinn. The Steelers forced a punt, then converted on third-and-1 with a 12-yard pass to Pickens, on fourth-and-1 on a 4-yard run by Warren and on third-and-2 on Warren’s 10-yarder.

Their momentum ended when Warren ran 7 yards to the Washington 1, where free safety Quan Martin forced a fumble that was recovered by Chinn with 7:05 remaining. But the defense held stout, thanks to a holding penalty and Daniels overthrowing an open McCaffrey.

The Steelers started their final drive with an illegal formation penalty, but Wilson found Freiermuth for 6 yards on third-and-3 to sustain the drive. After a 1-yard run by Harris and an incomplete pass, Wilson found Williams for the game-tying touchdown and Chris Boswell converted the point-after to give the Steelers the lead.

Washington had one last chance, but Pierre, who replaced the injured Donte Jackson (hamstring) at cornerback, redeemed himself by breaking up a third-and-9 pass intended for Noah Brown.

The Commanders came up short on fourth-and-9, but the win wasn’t clinched until Wilson used a hard count to draw defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton offside on fourth-and-1 at the Washington 49.

Asked what play the Steelers had called, Tomlin offered a diabolical answer with a laugh: “We’ll never know, will we?”