LANDOVER, Md. — From Russell Wilson's cadence and rookie defensive tackle Johnny Newton's neutral-zone infraction to the Steelers limiting quarterback Jayden Daniels and the Commanders to a season-low 242 yards — just 16 in the fourth quarter — the reasons for victory Sunday were many.

But Pittsburgh toppling Washington, 28-27, at Northwest Stadium was attributable to more than Wilson's gutsy performance, George Pickens' acrobatics or the defense getting Daniels and Co. off the field in crunch time. There was an off-the-field element that contributed to the Steelers' victory, too.

General manager Omar Khan's work before the NFL trade deadline last Tuesday looks really smart and timely, with Mike Williams and Preston Smith playing prominent roles in beating the Commanders, as well as what the Steelers could need from those two veterans in the weeks ahead.

"We have resilience," Cam Heyward said. "We have guys who can step up in moments; the moment's not too big. We have newcomers in Mike Williams and Preston Smith who are just getting into the fold and making big plays when they count."

The biggest was obviously Williams, who was acquired for a fifth-round pick from the Jets. His 32-yard touchdown catch on third-and-9 with 2:24 to go in the fourth quarter was exactly why the Steelers acquired him: to function as a big-body threat and to haul in a few Wilson moon balls.

It's why I failed to understand some of the vitriol surrounding this deal.

Yes, they flirted with top-tier wideouts such as Brandon Aiyuk and Davante Adams and had a few other talented wideouts attached to them. But how have those deals worked out?

DeAndre Hopkins looks like he could be a solid pickup for the Chiefs, but the well-compensated Aiyuk had zero touchdown catches for the 49ers before an injury ended his season, and Adams has just one in four games with the Jets.

Believe it or not, what the Steelers did with Williams made some sense — preserving future assets while still improving the team. It also could come in handy Sunday against the Ravens, considering Calvin Austin III was evaluated for a concussion in Washington.

"As a guy who has had multiple 1,000-yard seasons over his career, a guy who has made plays, a guy who has faced some adversity, you love it when guys face adversity and come through on the other end of it," Wilson said.

"Pretty special," Heyward added. "Glad we're able to use him in Pittsburgh."

Williams was labeled as damaged goods with the Jets because he seemed to fall out of favor with Aaron Rodgers. You know, like most other rational human beings. It's seemingly invoked some sarcasm while discussing the addition of Williams.

After offseason ACL surgery, Williams took longer to learn the offense and build chemistry with his quarterback. He also ran the wrong route at a key moment and felt the wrath of Rodgers' ego. That doesn't make him a bad player.

It's also not all that dissimilar from what Wilson experienced in Denver with another alpha personality who doesn't have the greatest reputation for playing nice: Sean Payton.

At the risk of making a mountain out of one touchdown catch, Williams should be able to fill a need for the Steelers, giving them a downfield threat to take some attention away from Pickens and to do exactly what he did on his touchdown catch: read the play, find the ball in the air and go get it.

"I just wanted to go out there and be myself," Williams said. "That's the main thing: don't overdo things, don't go out there and press. Whenever the ball comes, I'm able to make a play, and it came to me one time. That was one of the biggest plays of the game."

Might've been the biggest, honestly.

But we should also not lose sight of Smith, especially because of Alex Highsmith's seemingly serious ankle injury and what it could mean for the immediate future of the Steelers' pass rush.

The expectation at this point seems to be for Nick Herbig (hamstring) to return from a four-game absence against the Ravens on Sunday, but Khan adding Smith for a seventh-rounder was a shrewd deal at the time that much bigger now.

Losing Highsmith stinks, but the Steelers can now try to replace him with someone (Herbig) who has shown plenty of promise and a guy (Smith) with 3.5 sacks this season and an average of 8.3 per year dating back to 2019.

Yeah, that'll play.

"I'm just here to do my job," Smith said. "Ain't nothing extra. I can't control what happens, how many plays I get or how they use me. I'm here to do my job at a high level and do my best to bring this team a win."

Smith did that with aplomb on Sunday, sacking Daniels for a 1-yard loss as part of the defense's late-game takeover and then dropping Commanders receivers Dyami Brown for an 11-yard loss on a gadget play on the first snap of the fourth quarter.

The splashy plays from new faces led to a much-needed win over a quality team, but they're also an example of excellent GM'ing. The Steelers, who were responsible for 20% (2 of 10) of the deals that occurred within 24 hours of the NFL trade deadline, bucked a league-wide trend.

And in the process, it seems Khan made a good team even better by seeing what others could not.

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