Aaron Rodgers may have a useful edge when the Steelers meet the Colts in Week 5, and it comes in the form of tight end Darnell Washington.
Pittsburgh’s start has been uneven. The Steelers are 2-2 and sitting No. 3 in the AFC North after four games, a far cry from where they finished last season when they were atop the division. They’ve got the Browns and Ravens ahead of them in the standings at 3-1, so there’s work to do before any talk of climbing back to the top means much.
For now, the focus is on Indianapolis, and ESPN’s Week 5 predictions pointed to Washington as a player who could be in line for a big afternoon. Brooke Pryor wrote that “With a rainy forecast and injuries piling up among offensive skill players, Sunday could be a big day for TE Darnell Washington,” and noted that “Washington, who had four catches on six targets for 43 yards last season against Indianapolis, is one of QB Aaron Rodgers' most trusted pass catchers, as evidenced in his three consecutive red zone targets late in the fourth quarter of the loss to the Browns.”
Rodgers has already made it clear how he views Washington. “He's a mountain of a man,” Rodgers said, according to Pryor.
“And he's got great catch radius... So, you just kind of got to put it in his stratosphere, and he usually comes down with it.”
The Colts come in at 2-2 as well, which sets up a Week 5 matchup with both teams looking to make a statement.
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Aaron Rodgers Just Spotlighted A Rising Steelers Weapon
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Rodgers pointed to Washingtons size and physical tools as part of what makes him such a difficult piece to deal with, but he was just as struck by the way the young tight end has handled his rising status. After Washingtons recent extension, the expectation might have been for a player to relax a bit, yet his continued approach has only reinforced why the Steelers seem increasingly comfortable leaning on him in key spots. [Read more 🡒]