With George Pickens turning in a highlight-reel touchdown catch, and later playing mortal combat with defenders, the Pittsburgh Steelers overcame Jayden Daniels and the Commanders. And Mike Tomlin had a perfect response to comparisons between Daniels and Ravens' star Lamar Jackson.

The Steelers' head coach tamped down those burning embers down quickly, according to a post on X by Ari Meirov.

Mike Tomlin was asked about the similarities between Jayden Daniels and Lamar Jackson: “Be real slow comparing people to Lamar Jackson. That’s a multi-time MVP. That’s Mr. Jackson. We’ll see Mr. Jackson in a few days.”

Maybe Daniels will one day be able to remember that brush off. However, Tomlin is 100 percent correct at this point in Daniels’ career. In no way has Daniels earned a comparison to Lamar Jackson.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin not awed by Daniels

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin (R) congratulates Steelers wide receiver George Pickens (14) after a long catch against the Washington Commanders during the second half at Northwest Stadium.
Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Washington’s rookie quarterback had one of his least effective games of the season. Under pressure throughout the contest, he completed only 17 of 34 passes for 202 yards. He had no touchdowns and no interceptions as the Commanders suffered a tough 28-27 loss in battle of division leaders.

Also, Daniels carried just three times for five yards, his lowest output as a pro. He is still dealing with a rib injury that he described as “still there, but it's nothing that's holding me back.”

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Steelers’ veteran Russell Wilson turned in the best quarterback performance on this day. His numbers showed similarities to Daniels, but he got the job done, finishing 14 for 28 for 195 yards. A key difference came from three touchdown passes for Wilson. Mixed into the batch of those touchdowns, the game-winning toss to Mike Williams with a little over two minutes left in the game. Wilson gave credit to Williams, according to espn.com.

“It was a big-time catch by Mike,” Wilson said. “I just tried to give him a chance, let him do his thing. You visualize those moments and what could happen and just trusting guys. That was all Big Mike there.”

Daniels gave credit to Wilson, saying, “He made plays when the plays needed to be made.”