CLEVELAND — Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin hinted that Mike Williams’ snaps should only keep going up, but he has yet to crack the starting lineup for the third consecutive game. It appears the Steelers are still trying to acclimate Williams into the offense, as Van Jefferson got first-team reps over him on Pittsburgh’s opening drive against the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night.
Williams went from catching the game-winning touchdown in Week 10 to not receiving a single target in Week 11. It’s not the role many imagined he would have two games into his Steelers career, but he is happy as long as they keep winning.
“For me, just do your assignment. That’s the main thing. You watch the film. You do your assignment. You be where you need to be,” Williams said. “I mean, we winning, so that’s all that matters at this point.”
Williams played only nine snaps against Washington, but he caught a Russell Wilson moon ball over his shoulder for a 32-yard game-winning touchdown. It was Williams only catch of the game, but it came at the most important time.
“He’s a veteran guy. He’s a quick study,” Tomlin said after the game. “We didn’t throw everything at him but we threw enough, particularly, the one-dimensional ball in passing circumstances. We didn’t want him over there standing with us at the weightiest of moments.”
Williams said Wilson told him to just run a go route on his game-winning touchdown catch. It was a play that they’ve never practiced with each other before.
“Yeah, Mike [Williams] has been great. He’s smart, he’s on it, he’s a pro. Got a lot of great guys around them. Just love that room, all the hard work they put in every day is really special. So Mike’s a great addition for us.” Wilson said.
Williams is solely focused on continuing to learn the offense so that when his number is called, he can make another big play just as he did in his debut.
“Just being a professional,” Williams said. “That’s the main thing. Watching film, studying, getting an extra couple throws with the quarterbacks and just staying on top of things.”
It’s not surprising that Williams’ role hasn’t change much on a short week. That doesn’t mean Williams’ new teammates aren’t doing everything they can to get him up to speed, though. Williams credits his early success to the work he and quarterback Russell Wilson have already put in together.
“He’s a tremendous leader,” Williams said. “It’s just staying on the same page and just getting the throws in, just making it routine things.”
