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Steelers transformed the way they do business in offseason. The results have been dramatic

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has pushed many of the right buttons this season during a 7-2 start. Associated Press

PITTSBURGH — On the surface, the call was risky, but only to those who haven't been paying attention to how the Pittsburgh Steelers go about their business these days.

Backed up in the first quarter against Washington on Sunday and getting ready to punt, All-Pro Miles Killebrew, serving as the upback, saw one of the Commanders' gunners creep down the line of scrimmage to help out on a potential block, leaving teammate James Pierre all by himself on the outside.

So Killebrew, the captain of perhaps the best special teams unit in the NFL, did what longtime coordinator Danny Smith has empowered him to do: he gambled, taking the snap and flipping a pass to an open Pierre down the left sideline. Pierre, perhaps showing why he's a cornerback and not a wide receiver by trade, dropped it, giving the Commanders pristine field position they quickly turned into a touchdown.

Ultimately, it didn't matter. Not after the Steelers erased a 10-point second-half deficit to edge Washington 28-27 and improve to 7-2 following a game that in many ways symbolized the shift in the tectonic plates that long have governed arguably the NFL's most stable franchise.

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