Antonio Brown and Vince Williams had it all wrong. They did a little number Sunday night on the Steelers sideline — away from the officials’ prying eyes and penalty flags — that rivaled anything Brown did on “Dancing With The Stars.” It was a celebration of Brown’s second touchdown catch in the big win against the Kansas City Chiefs. It should have been in honor of the marvelous game that Williams played. No Ryan Shazier? No problem.
Williams has come a long way. He made national news last season when he tweeted what many interpreted as a death threat for Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict. Williams was under a much different spotlight — a much better spotlight — against the Chiefs when he started for the injured Shazier, called the defensive signals and led the Steelers with 15 tackles and a sack in their 43-14 win.
“I knew Ryan was down,” Williams said. “The guy is a tremendous talent and he loves football. I could just see it in his face, he was hurting that he couldn’t come out and contribute. I was just trying to hold it down for him. I couldn’t let him down.”
Williams was the best part of a reconfigured defense that had Jordan Dangerfield replacing injured safety Robert Golden and Artie Burns and Justin Gilbert playing for injured slot cornerback Sean Davis. The defense held the Chiefs to zero points and 25 rushing yards through three quarters as the Steelers built a 36-0 lead.
“We always want to dominate the run and get them one dimensional and take them to the deep end of the pool,” Williams said. “We were able to do that …
“I feel like the entire team played fantastic. We definitely knew we could play better [after the 34-3 loss in Philadelphia a week earlier]. We knew we couldn’t have a bad performance at home. We wanted to give Steeler Nation something to go to work and brag about.”
Williams certainly did his part. He picked up his sack, touching down Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith after Smith was flushed out of the pocket by Cam Heyward, who had a monster game with three sacks. Heyward and Stephon Tuitt were the best defensive players on the field.
“Those guys really got after it,” Williams said. “Tuitt and Cam are amazing players. When they start getting in a rhythm like that, it’s hard to stop them. Those guys really led the charge on the effort and hustle.”
Williams was all over the field, as well. On the same series as his sack, he made the tackle on consecutive plays, stopping running back Knile Davis for a 2-yard loss and holding receiver Tyreek Hill to a 1-yard gain on a quick screen play. His six tackles on run plays were the most by any NFL player Sunday, according to Pro Football Focus. His most impressive play might have been running down Spencer Ware 46 yards down the field late in the game after Ware’s only long run of the game.
“I don’t really keep count,” Williams said when asked about his tackles. “I don’t really look at stats. I’m not a statistics guy. To me, the only statistic that matters is wins. Statistics are for losers.”
That might be true, but 15 tackles are 15 tackles. That’s a good day’s work for Jack Lambert let alone Vince Williams.
“I practice and I prepare every day to play well,” Williams said. “It’s always a surprise to me when I don’t play well. Hopefully, I can go out there next week and put on a show again.”
Mike Tomlin should have an update today about Shazier’s potential availability for the home game Sunday against the New York Jets. The Steelers are fortunate to have Williams because Shazier has had a problem staying healthy, missing 12 of 39 games, including playoffs, since the Steelers made him their No. 1 draft choice in 2014. Management knows Williams’ value. It doesn’t often give multiyear contracts to a backup player, but it did for Williams, a sixth-round pick in 2013, when it signed him to a three-year, $5.5 million deal in August. It’s easy to see him as a starter next season because Lawrence Timmons is rapidly approaching the end of his strong career.
“It feels fantastic to be drafted by an organization and be able to continue your career after your rookie contract,” Williams said. “I knew I could get it done. They knew I could get it done. They believed in me. I believed in them.”
Sunday night, Williams made believers of the Chiefs.
Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com and Twitter @RonCookPG. Ron Cook can be heard on the “Cook and Poni” show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.
First Published: October 4, 2016, 4:00 a.m.