Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburgh visits Washington in a clash of teams that are on unexpected playoff tracks
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — The odds were against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Commanders making the playoffs before the season started, for various reasons on either side.
They meet up just past the midway point in a showdown of first-place teams that have exceeded expectations and even added at the trade deadline to improve their odds. The Steelers (6-2) acquired receiver Mike Williams and edge rusher Preston Smith to fill areas of need, the Commanders (7-2) got cornerback Marshon Lattimore, and their game Sunday at Washington is a chance to see how they stack up against each other.
“It’s a tough matchup and another good test for us,” Commanders receiver Noah Brown said. “We’re excited about it.”
While Lattimore’s status is murky because of a hamstring injury, Williams and Smith could play — and the Steelers are plenty excited about what they bring to a group that has already set a high standard for what a successful season looks like.
“We know we have to win playoff games,” tight end Pat Freiermuth said. “That was our goal coming into this year, so any time the front office can add pieces to that, if they can help us win, obviously it’s cool. But we knew from the start we were all in to go win this thing this year.”
Pittsburgh hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016 but has reached the postseason in two of the past three years and 11 times under coach Mike Tomlin. Washington has just one appearance since 2016 and hasn’t won a playoff game since 2005.
This looked like a rebuilding season around rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Instead, Daniels has been one of the NFL’s best players to leap into the MVP conversation, general manager Adam Peters’ roster overhaul has paid immediate dividends, and this is Washington’s best nine-game start since 1996. Six-time All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner, one of a bevy of new additions in free agency, isn’t sure if playing the Steelers is a measuring stick but can’t wait to get on the field and find out.
“I think it’s more fun,” said Wagner, who played with Pittsburgh QB Russell Wilson for a decade with Seattle. “The Steelers is a really respected organization, and so being able to play against somebody like that and being able to play against a coach like Mike Tomlin and things of that nature, it’s more so like, ‘OK, this game’s going to be fun.’”
The Commanders are 3-point favorites on BetMGM Sportsbook.
No ordinary rookie
The Steelers have dominated rookie quarterbacks through the years, including a 25-6 mark under Tomlin. That list includes an easy victory over Robert Griffin III and Washington in 2012, as well as a win against Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos in Week 2.
Enter the electric Daniels, who has Tomlin’s full attention.
The NFL’s longest-tenured coach doesn’t think Daniels is a typical first-year player, pointing to Daniels’ ability to extend plays and make productive decisions at the end of them.
“He’s been able to extract the good from those moments while minimizing the bad,” Tomlin said. “I just think that speaks to his savvy and experience. … This guy has been a franchise quarterback at two different universities.”
Respect for Russ
Daniels is several games into his pro career — nine, officially, but he missed the vast majority of one with a rib injury. Wilson is in his 13th season, now with his third team, and Daniels admires the almost-36-year-old vet’s playmaking abilities.
“I’ve been seeing Russ pretty much his whole career,” said Daniels, who continues practicing and playing through sore ribs but hasn’t slowed down. “He throws a really good deep ball, very accurate. Overall, just his leadership and how he treats his people on and off the field, that’s something that stands out.”
Commanders rookie defensive tackle Johnny Newton, who grew up a Seahawks fan rooting for Wilson, called him smart and savvy.
“He has a feel of everything,” Newton said.
Running on empty
Pittsburgh’s vaunted run defense took a hit against the New York Giants during a 28-16 victory on Oct. 28, allowing a season-high 157 yards on the ground in a performance that left veteran defensive tackle Cam Heyward fuming.
The Steelers, coming off their bye, need to make sure the shaky play at the line of scrimmage was an anomaly with their second-half schedule filled with teams that like to run the ball, including Washington, Baltimore (twice) and Philadelphia.
Tomlin seems less concerned about the opponents than he does his defense returning to the form it showed earlier in the season.
“We don’t care about the Joneses, man,” Tomlin said. “Our story is our story. We got an agenda and we’re trying to live it, and when we don’t meet it, we’re thumb-pointers. We’re the guys that look in the mirror.”
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AP Sports Writer Will Graves in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
The Pittsburgh Steelers kicked off their annual Girls Flag Football season this weekend.
Athletes from six local high schools and seven colleges met up at St. Vincent College in Westmoreland County to compete in two games each on Saturday. This week, Jeannette, McKeesport, Plum, Penn Hills, Woodland Hills, and Gateway participated.
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What started as a club sport in Southwestern Pennsylvania has now grown to include over 50 high schools.
“Girls have been playing football and flag football for years and years. It’s been in communities but it’s never been official; they’ve never been able to put on their school jersey, whether it’s a high school or college jersey. Now, they have that opportunity to compete,” said Senior Manager of Alumni Relations and Youth Football Mike Marchinsky.
The Steelers have contributed more than $250,000 to develop Girls Flag Football in Western Pennsylvania. The money helps pay for uniforms, travel, coaches and athletic trainers.
Giant Eagle, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Spread Group have also helped make games happen on Saturday.
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Russell Wilson and the Pittsburgh Steelers officially went their separate ways this week after he signed a one-year deal with the New York Giants.
The agreement effectively removed New York from the Aaron Rodgers sweepstakes, leaving the Steelers as the only true suitor for his services at the moment.
Wilson met with the Giants during the opening week of free agency, though it took an extended period of time before the two sides came to terms.
Multiple reports indicated that the contract guaranteed the 36-year-old $10.5 million with a maximum value of $21 million. The full details were unknown, however, until Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer revealed the specifics of the pact.
Wilson will receive an $8 million signing bonus in tandem with a $2 million base salary and a $500,000 workout bonus, making up the entirety of his guarantees.
As for incentives based upon his time spent behind center, he would earn an additional $500,000 for playing 65 percent of the team’s snaps, $1 million for 75 percent and $1.5 million for 85 percent.
There’s also plenty of performance-based payouts involved, as Wilson would net $500,000 for reaching each of the following benchmarks: a passer rating above 96.0, a 64.0 percent completion rate, 20 or more passing touchdowns with a passer rating above 88.0, and 2,500 or more passing yards with at least an 88.0 passer rating.
Furthermore, he’d pocket $250,000 for accomplishing each of the following: 30 or more touchdowns alongside an 88.0 passer rating or above, as well as throwing for at least 3,500 yards to go with an 88.0 or above passer rating.
If the Giants turn their whole operation around and make the playoffs, Wilson would make $750,000 if he logs 55 percent of the reps and $1.5 million if he plays 75 percent.
In a world where New York wins a postseason game and he sees the field for 55 percent of the snaps, he’d net $500,000. If it were to capture a second victory, Wilson would make an additional $500,000.
Finally, in any game he plays at least 50 percent of the snaps and the Giants emerge victorious, Wilson would gain $176,470.59.
The Steelers and Wilson seemingly ended their relationship on rocky terms following a five-game losing streak to end the 2024 campaign, but he now has a chance to make his mark in the Big Apple.
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Former Hoover High School standout Jeremiah Moon will be back with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2025.
The NFL team announced on Friday the outside linebacker had signed a one-year contract after playing in 13 games, with one start, for Pittsburgh in 2024.
Moon entered the offseason as an exclusive-rights free agent – a player with two or fewer NFL accrued seasons and an expiring contract. Because the Steelers did not tender Moon a contract before the start of the league’s 2025 business year on March 12, he became an unrestricted free agent. But he still returned to Pittsburgh.
An All-State defensive end for Hoover in 2015, Moon played six seasons at Florida before entering the NFL as an undrafted rookie with the Baltimore Ravens in 2022.
Moon spent his rookie season on the Baltimore practice squad. In 2023, he appeared on the active roster and the practice squad and played in eight games, with one start.
Moon also played in a postseason contest for the Ravens before Baltimore waived him on Jan. 26, 2024, to create a roster spot for tight end Mark Andrews, who made it back from injured reserve just in time for the AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
After spending the first four weeks of the 2024 season on injured reserve because of an ankle injury, Moon was on the field for 111 defensive snaps and 222 special-teams plays. He also played in the Steelers’ 28-14 loss to Baltimore in the first round of the AFC playoffs.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.
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