Cornerback Darius Slay is one of the latest additions to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He might be near the end of his career at 34 years old, but he was still a solid player last year. And some Steelers fans might remember him for the brawl he was involved in when the Steelers played the Philadelphia Eagles. It started with Darnell Washington blocking him out of the back of the end zone. Punches were thrown, and it was a controversial moment. Now that they’re teammates, Washington said he doesn’t have any hard feelings toward Slay.
“I’m just the type of guy, I don’t hold grudges,” Washington said recently on Zach’s Tech Turf’s YouTube channel. “What I do on the field is totally different from what I do off the field. I’m a good dude.”
Slay hasn’t commented on that situation since signing with the Steelers, but he did talk about something similar. A few years ago, he and DK Metcalf got into a physical altercation on the field. It was similar to what happened between him and Washington. When asked about it, Slay treated it like water under the bridge. Although his dust up with Washington was more recent, hopefully he’s just as ready to move past it.
Shortly after that game, Slay did seem pretty unhappy with Washington. It’s fair to say that Washington shouldn’t have been engaged with Slay for that long. He should’ve let the block go in the end zone. Going all the way to the stands is a little excessive.
However, Slay shouldn’t have thrown a punch. Although he wasn’t flagged for it, that’s inviting more trouble. Both parties were in the wrong, and it would be better to let that be water under the bridge.
During that same video, Washington did go into more depth on the play.
“I though Najee [Harris] was gonna score. I can’t see. When I pulled around, if you really go look at the clip, I checked my inside, he didn’t blitz. I saw him take his block, saw him take his block, so I’m just like, ‘I’m the last block. If I take him, we score.’ I was just like, why not score, and why not do it in style?”
It sounds like Washington knew he probably shouldn’t have done that, but he wanted to add a little extra flair to the play. That still probably wasn’t a wise decision, although his reasoning is fair. It was the first quarter, and the Steelers had just forced a huge fumble on the Eagles’ punt return. They set up at Philadelphia’s 11-yard line, in great position to score.
On the following play, Harris had them knocking on the door at the Eagles’ four-yard line. Unfortunately, Washington’s penalty costed them big time. It negated that play and pushed them back 15 yards. The Steelers didn’t recover, having to settle for a field goal.
Ultimately, the Steelers got crushed in that game, and that early misstep from Washington didn’t help. Football is a physical game, and things like that happen. Yes, the Eagles also should’ve been penalized. However, there’s no reason to put that decision into the referee’s hands.
It sounds like Washington was aware that the play was over and still chose to take that risk.
“I saw the wall, [Slay’s] much shorter than me. I heard the whistle, I felt him trying to fight off. And I saw the wall and I’m like, ‘Yeah, why not?'”
In the long run, that wasn’t a great decision, but hopefully Washington has learned from it. He and Slay will likely have to have a conversation about it at some point. With both of them being professionals, they should just let it go. It sounds like Washington is okay with that.
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