First Call: Mike Williams heard calls from Steelers fans; Commanders' plan to balance Terrible Towels in D.C.

New Pittsburgh Steeler Mike Williams talks about his recent exposure to Acrisure Stadium. We get some background on Diontae Johnson’s trade to Baltimore from Carolina’s perspective.

The Washington Commanders have a plan to counterbalance a potential influx of Steelers fans populating their stadium on Sunday. And the Penguins are running into some scorching opponents on the next two legs of their current road trip.

All that in Thursday’s “First Call.”

Heard it all

A few weeks before the Steelers acquired wide receiver Mike Williams from the New York Jets, his former team had a Sunday night game at Acrisure Stadium.

In advance of that contest, trade rumors that connected Williams to Pittsburgh were swirling. Black and Gold fans in attendance were well aware of them, and Williams said he heard comments from those folks who wanted him to become a Steeler even though he was wearing the opposing team’s uniform at the time.

“That was crazy,” Williams said Wednesday after his first practice in Pittsburgh. “People in the stands (were) telling me, ‘Don’t go back. Stay! Don’t take the plane back.’ That was funny.”

Williams only had one catch for 16 yards that night and had just one more over the next two weeks against Houston and New England. The Steelers made the trade for his services anyway on Tuesday.

Williams missed the initial phone calls to tell him the news.

”I was asleep, and I was feeling like my phone vibrating. But, I thought I was dreaming,” Williams said. “It was like five missed calls from my agent. Then the GM from the Jets (Joe Douglas) called and told me about the trade.”

Williams has only 12 catches for 166 yards this season. But the Steelers are hoping to expand his impact over these final nine weeks of the season. He was acquired for a fifth-round pick in the 2025 draft.

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Mix and match

The Washington Commanders are planning to use the Terrible Towel against Steelers fans who plan to invade Northwest Stadium in D.C. on Sunday afternoon.

The team is going to hand out burgundy-colored towels to fans as they walk through the gates. The thought is, since the Commanders’ colors are burgundy and gold that the imagery will all come together in their favor regardless of who is waiving whatever color in the seats if Steelers fans bring their Terrible Towels.

Former Washington great Brian Mitchell advanced the idea on the field in New York after the Commanders beat the Giants, 27-22, last weekend.

“The powers that be, I need you all to give burgundy towels to every fan coming into the stadium because you know the Steelers are going to come in with their yellow,” Mitchell said. “We’re going to mix it together, and it’s going to be burgundy and gold all throughout the stadium. That’s going to look good on TV.”

gold towels + burgundy towels = a beautiful sight #PITvsWAS | #RaiseHail pic.twitter.com/FvhJ9zoP0v

— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) November 6, 2024

Steelers fans have already had two noticeable road takeovers this season in Atlanta and Las Vegas. Washington may be a different story, though, with the Commanders off to a 7-2 start.

The last time the Steelers were in Washington, the franchise was still called the Redskins, and the Steelers won 38-16 in the 2016 season opener on “Monday Night Football.”

Best to move on

The Steelers decided to trade Diontae Johnson without much of a backup plan to replace him at wide receiver in March. The Carolina Panthers just did the same thing seven months later in mid-season.

That’s why Johnson is now Raven. He made a limited debut with Baltimore last week and could see more action Thursday night against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Based on what Panthers’ general manager Dan Morgan said via the team’s website, it sounds like Johnson’s time expired quickly in Charlotte, similar to what happened in Pittsburgh.

“We felt at the end of the day that it was best for the team and best for Diontae that we both part ways and get the compensation there that we got,” Morgan said, via the team’s website. “So, at the end of the day, I just thought it was best for both sides to do that. He wanted a change of scenery, and we wanted to do things on our end as well. It’s just best for both sides to part ways.”

All the Panthers got from Baltimore in exchange for Johnson was a fifth-round pick. The Steelers got Donte Jackson from Carolina when they sent Johnson there in March. Jackson has started every game this season at cornerback opposite Joey Porter Jr. He has been a significant upgrade for the Steelers in the secondary this season.

Pens problems

So much for the good vibes of a two-game winning streak.

After the Penguins won back-to-back games at home against the Anaheim Ducks and Montreal Canadiens last week, their three-game road trip against the New York Islanders got off to a bad start Tuesday. The Pens blew a 3-1 lead and ended up losing a shootout for a 4-3 defeat.

Now Sidney Crosby and company have to head to Carolina to play the Hurricanes in another Metropolitan Division showdown on Thursday night. Carolina is tearing up the NHL right now with seven consecutive wins. The Canes, Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils lead the Metro Division with 18 points apiece.

The Hurricanes have only played 11 games, and they are 9-2-0 on the year. Martin Necas is leading the team with 20 points. That’s tied with Las Vegas’ Mark Stone for the sixth most in hockey.

Goalie Frederik Andersen (3-1-0) got off to a great start with a 0.941 save percentage and a 1.48 goals-against average — tops in the NHL in both categories. But now he is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Pyotr Kochetkov is 6-1-0 with a 2.72 goals-against average and a save percentage of .878 in the interim.

At 2.46 goals-against per game as a team, the Canes are third in the NHL, and their special teams units are both good. Their penalty kill of 83.3% is ninth in the league, and their power play is also ninth in the league at 25%.

Coach Mike Sullivan’s team was 2-1-0-1 versus Carolina last year. The Canes won the only meeting so far this season, 4-1, on Oct. 18.

Red hot in red

After their game in Raleigh on Thursday night, the Penguins head to Washington on Friday to play the Capitals for the first time this year. They will do so with Washington’s Alex Ovechkin on a heater. He scored again Thursday night during the Caps’ 3-2 win over Nashville.

ALEX OVECHKIN SCORES AGAIN ????

That's goal No. 861! pic.twitter.com/tHWtYqppWQ

— NHL (@NHL) November 7, 2024

That’s Ovechkin’s eighth goal this season and sixth over his past five outings. It’s also the 861st of his career. Only Wayne Gretzky (894) has more in the history of the league. He also added an assist earlier in the game.

The Caps are now 9-3-0, 7-1-0 at home. The teams were 2-2 against each other last season.

Listen: Tim Benz and Brian Metzer discuss the struggling Penguins in this week’s hockey podcast.