Tag: Darnell Washington

Former Georgia Bulldog named Pittsburgh Steelers’ most improved player

Former Georgia Bulldogs tight end named as Pittsburgh Steelers’ most improved player in 2024

Pro Football Focus named former Georgia Bulldogs star tight end Darnell Washington as the most improved player on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Washington improved significantly in his second year with Pittsburgh.

Washington contributed more to the Steelers’ passing attack after posting modest receiving numbers as a rookie in 2023. Washington’s top skill is his blocking ability. The 6-foot-7, 265-pound tight end has a unique combination of size and speed. He is able to create mismatches in the passing game and must be respected as a run blocker.

“Washington featured more frequently in the passing game in 2024, catching 19 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown,” said Thomas Valentine of Pro Football Focus. “He still has a way to go before he’s the finished product, but Washington improved his grade from 49.8 in 2023 to 73.4 in 2024 and still showed his value as one of the best blocking tight ends in the game.”

Washington used his versatility to help the Steelers land a playoff berth. However, Pittsburgh lost to the Baltimore Ravens in the wild-card round.

Washington had a highlight hurdle play this past season.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DAl3jNpynKP

The former UGA tight end has immense potential and should continue to refine his receiving skills in his third NFL season.

Most improved Steeler highlights how bad things went in 2024

Darnell Washington was named the Steelers most improved player by PFF.

The improvement by its players measures improvement in an NFL team. Young players who grow and develop which show up on the field and teams win more games. Pretty simple stuff. But as we’ve seen with the Pittsburgh Steelers, that development hasn’t been there and the team has remained stagnant.

A perfect example of this is the 2024 season and Pro Football Focus’ most improved players for each team. The best they could come up with on a team full of young players was tight end Darnell Washington. Here’s what they had to say about the pick:

Washington featured more frequently in the passing game in 2024, catching 19 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown. He still has a way to go before he’s the finished product, but Washington improved his grade from 49.8 in 2023 to 73.4 in 2024 and still showed his value as one of the best blocking tight ends in the game. 

Washington going from seven receptions to 19 was the biggest improvement a Steelers player had from 2023 to 2024. Yikes. We probably would have gone for wide receiver Calvin Austin for our most improved player after going from 17 receptions in 2023 to 36 in 2024 but either way, you understand there weren’t a whole lot of options either way.

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NFL reveals officiating mistake with fines for Steelers-Eagles fight

The NFL’s fines after the Steelers-Eagles fight expose officiating errors from Week 15’s heated altercation.

It appears the NFL is attempting to right the wrong from the terrible officiating on the penalty resulting from the Week 15 skirmish between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles.

The fight in question saw Steelers TE Darnell Washington take his blocking assignment a little too far, Eagles CBs Darius Slay Jr. and Quinyon Mitchell throw haymakers, and Steelers WR Calvin Austin III defend his teammate. However, the NFL initially only penalized the Black and Gold, claiming they had not seen any punches thrown by Philadelphia. Footage emerged following the game, clearly showing Slay punching Washington.

Almost a week later, the NFL has seemingly realized its mistake while handing out fines. While Austin and Washington were also fined—$6,173 and $6,760 respectively—it is nowhere close to the amount Mitchell and Slay are being charged, with both fined $14,069 each for their involvement.

Did the NFL do enough to correct the awful call from the Steelers-Eagles game? One could argue they did, but it’s a mistake that may have contributed to the Black and Gold’s loss.

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Cam Heyward tears into controversial Week 15 officiating vs Eagles

Cam Heyward calls out poor officiating in the Week 15 Steelers-Eagles game that saw several questionable penalty decisions made.

As viewers of the Week 15 contest between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles are well aware, the officiating was—to say the least—terrible.

Veteran Steelers DT Cam Heyward took exception with two poor calls in particular, one that saw his little brother TE/FB Connor Heyward being punched, and the other was TE Darnell Washington being slugged by Eagles CB Darius Slay.

On the most recent episode of Not Just Football with Cam Heyward, the Steelers defensive tackle discussed both of the atrocious officiating decisions: “The reasoning behind those two plays just felt idiotic.”

Heyward would continue to rip into the officials’ decisions and vision on these penalties, arguing that it “did not feel like they even looked at the plays.”

Heyward concluded his analysis and criticism of the officials from Week 15’s contest, describing that, at the very least, the penalties should have offset between Washington and Slay.

Heyward will need to recompose himself, as the team has little time to focus on the poor officiating from Week 15. The Pittsburgh Steelers have the potential to take the AFC North title by defeating the Baltimore Ravens in Week 16, and to do so, every bit of energy and effort will need to be spent on stopping the Lamar Jackson-led offense.

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WATCH: Darius Slay on Mike Trout wanting to join Eagles end zone fight with Steelers

Darius Slay says Philadelphia fan and Angels outfielder Mike Trout wanted to to join Eagles end zone scuffle with Steelers

Mike Trout might play for the Angels of Anaheim. Still, the South Jersey native is Philly personified and proved his worth to Eagles fans during the dustup involving Darius Slay and Darnell Washington.

During a recent episode of his ‘Big Play Slay’ podcast, the Eagles’ star cornerback discussed Trout’s readiness to jump in the fight and help.

Trout is an Eagles season ticket holder and usually can be found seated right in front of that section of Lincoln Financial Field where the Steelers tight end and Eagles cornerback were engaged in blows getting thrown after Washington attempted to block Slay out into the street.

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‘Hard Knocks’ shows what officials said to anger Mike Tomlin vs Eagles

Officials’ unseen exchange with Mike Tomlin highlights one of the worst excuses after a controversial Week 15 Steelers penalty.

Viewers of this week’s new episode of Hard Knocks: In Season with the AFC North, were treated to what led to Steelers HC Mike Tomlin profanely telling officials to get away from him.

Before Tomlin’s choice words to the officials, he questioned why they decided to call such a heinous penalty on both Steelers players: “Y’all didn’t see that guy throwing punches for Philadelphia?”

The official speaking to Tomlin then provided the most embarrassing excuse one could imagine, claiming the Eagles player was “knocking his hands off him.”

Fans who saw up-close footage of the altercation could clearly see that while Steelers TE Darnell Washington blocked CB Darius Slay Jr. for an extended period, the Eagles cornerback was the first to throw punches.

No wonder Tomlin was so bewildered with the officiating crew during Week 16’s contest between the Steelers and Eagles. Not only was Pittsburgh wrongly penalized for the skirmish, but he was also given one of the worst officiating excuses imaginable.

As the Steelers prepare for the Ravens in Week 16, hopefully the team can put these wrongful penalties behind them, with the stakes higher than ever in the upcoming AFC North showdown—a chance at the divisional title.

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New footage shows officials were wrong in Week 15’s Steelers-Eagles fight

New footage vindicates Steelers fans, proving officiating errors in Pittsburgh’s Week 15 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Oh, how the tables have turned. Fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers were criticized as sore losers for blaming the awful officiating in Week 15’s contest between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles. However, new footage from one key play in the game supports the Black and Gold faithful’s claims.

Early in the first quarter, Steelers WR Calvin Austin and TE Darnell Washington were wrongfully the only players penalized for a fight that broke out with Eagles CBs Quinyon Mitchell and Darius Slay Jr.

HC Mike Tomlin was visibly upset on the sideline following the penalty on his players alone. When asked postgame why the officiating crew made the call, referee Alan Eck stated it was due to a lack of evidence.

However, newly released footage clearly shows that Slay and Mitchell both took shots at Washington and Austin.  This begs the question, how was officiating upstairs unable to catch the penalty in replay assist?

While this is certainly not the first time officials have given the Pittsburgh Steelers the short end of the stick, fans of the Steel City certainly hope it will be the last in 2024.

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Fight erupts between Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles

A heated brawl erupted during the Steelers’ Week 15 contest after a physical altercation involving Darnell Washington and Calvin Austin.

George Pickens may have missed the Week 15 matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles, but his chaotic spirit lived on through some of his teammates early in the contest.

Steelers TE Darnell Washington—known for his impressive ability and willingness to block—did his best Pickens impersonation by driving Philadelphia Eagles CB Darius Slay all the way out of the end zone and slamming him into the stands.

The physical altercation took a turn for the worse when WR Calvin Austin III got involved, shoving CB Quinton Mitchell, who was near the pile of bodies. Mitchell seemingly landed a swing on Austin, but the officials must have missed that part of the action, as only Austin and Washington were penalized for the altercation.

Ultimately, the physical nature of the interaction that caused the penalty would stall the Pittsburgh Steelers’ scoring opportunity. The situation mirrored Pickens’ block attempt on Browns CB Greg Newsome II back in Week 12, where he drove the defender into the stands to end the game.

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Mike Tomlin spares no feelings regarding Russell Wilson’s Week 11 INT

Mike Tomlin addresses Russell Wilson’s costly interception in Week 11 as the Steelers prepare for Thursday Night Football against Cleveland.

While Russell Wilson has led the Steelers to four consecutive victories in each of his past four starts, Head Coach Mike Tomlin was unimpressed with one specific play from Week 11 against Baltimore.

The offense was struggling to score touchdowns against a stingy Ravens defense, and Wilson almost made a spectacular touchdown pass to TE Darnell Washington.

Wilson escaped pressure, scrambled to his right, and threw up a jump ball to the 6’7″ dynamic tight end in the end zone, but Washington watched it fly past his head and into the arms of Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey.

While the blame game was to be expected, Tomlin wasted no time letting everyone know who he believes was at fault: “I just wish Russ hadn’t thrown it.”

The Pittsburgh Steelers brought Wilson in to make plays for their offense, and Tomlin shouldn’t be surprised nor discourage Wilson’s willingness to take these risks.

Tomlin and the Wilson-led Steelers offense will look to get back on track against the Cleveland Browns on, Thursday Night Football, on November 21st at 8:15 PM EST.

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Steelers TE Darnell Washington hit with fine, team’s first of season

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington plans to appeal a fine for an illegal crackback block during Week 3 L.A. Chargers game.

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington told the media on Wednesday that he was levied a $6,000 fine for an illegal crackback block during the win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo tweeted that Washington plans to appeal.

NFL compliance officers and league assistants review game film for potential rule violations after each Monday, and players are notified of the decision. Findings are made public on Saturday afternoon.

According to NFL operations, “fines collected are donated to the Professional Athletes Foundation to support legends in need and the NFL Foundation to further support the health, safety and wellness of athletes across all levels, including youth football and the communities that support the game.”

If the fine is upheld, it will be the first of the season for a Steelers player.

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