It took a whole week, but the Steelers finally get to play the Ravens after waiting through three postponements.
Now they have to stop a short-handed Baltimore team.
Did I say stop?
Sorry. I meant punish.
The Steelers and Ravens have been the top dogs of the AFC North since its inception, with the Steelers winning eight division titles and the Ravens winning six since the division's inception in 2002.
And through all of those years, both teams have given out plenty of punishment with big hits. But with the Ravens' limitations on Wednesday, the Steelers will call upon their second-most tenured player on defense to deliver the big plays: Vince Williams.
Despite being a sixth-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft and never getting selected to a Pro Bowl, Williams has made himself a mainstay of the Steelers' defense with his ability to stuff the run and be a physical presence in the box. But on top of that, he's developed a savvy for sniffing out different types of plays and shutting down plays when he's in position. That's impressive within a defense that boasts six first-round picks starting today.
Williams isn't just sitting around either. His 14 tackles for loss are second-most in the NFL, behind Bears linebacker Roquan Smith, an early first-round pick.
Williams has made plenty of his plays inside the box that have shut down opponents' run games for years. But he's learned to do it by being smart and attacking with the proper angles while reading opponents' offensive game plans.
Watch how he sniffs out this run to James Robinson, beating the guard's chip block and clogging up a hole that could've led to a big gain for the Jaguars last week:
I slowed the play down so you could see how every step he took was deliberate and precise.
Williams has honed his game by knowing how to make the most of working in tight spaces. When he meets opponents he uses his physicality to blow them back, but he's also smart enough to know how to not commit to blowing up players and see how he can adapt to different situations.
Watch how he does just that against one of the NFL's most physical running backs in Derrick Henry.
You see how Williams flows right into the hole and is ready to attack Henry at the beginning of the play, but realizes the play is a play action pass and works his way quickly around Henry to sack Ryan Tannehill:
That's quick feet for a downhill linebacker to pull off.
The Steelers will need those quick feet Wednesday when they take on the Ravens at 3:40 p.m.
Sure, Lamar Jackson is out because of COVID-19 and he's been their primary threat. But they beat the Steelers in week 17 last season with Robert Griffin III too. Then, the Ravens got 130 rushing yards from Gus Edwards, and 50 from Griffin.
Williams is good at stuffing the run, but often teams with backup quarterbacks will work easier ways to get passes to running backs to alleviate pressure from the quarterback.
Good thing for the Steelers that Williams is good at taking those plays away too.
Terrell Edmunds and Robert Spillane deserve credit for the Steelers' success in this department as well, but Williams and the Steelers have been exceptional at taking running backs out of the passing game for opponents. So much so that the Steelers have given up the fewest receiving yards to a running back in the NFL with 221 yards on just 32 receptions.
Williams is definitely part of that equation, as he plays his downhill style of linebacker that causes problems for offenses, even when he's sniffing out a play.
Watch how Williams sniffs out this designed screen to Devin Ozigbo. Williams never sells out on his assignment that he takes himself out of position, but when the pass comes to Ozigbo he's well-positioned that Jake Luton has to throw the ball away:
That's being useful at multiple levels.
The Steelers need to put Williams to use in this game against the Ravens. Whether or not Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins are active for this game, the Ravens will try to work the ball to their running backs and the Steelers need to be ready.
Williams can keep the Steelers' defense ready without selling out any formations to stop the run. Knowing that he'll have that and the Steelers' secondary being aggressive will be the Steelers' best recipe for wrecking whatever adjusted offensive game plan the Ravens bring to Heinz Field.