DeAngelo Williams Defying Father Time in Sparking Steelers to Enviable Start

PITTSBURGH — DeAngelo Williams stood at his locker, a smile on his face, some blood on his uniform. He looks young and sprightly for an old man.

Williams has been walking the earth so long, his first teammate was Barney Rubble.

But don’t call him old to his face. Nuh-uh. Don’t do it. Shut the hell up with that age talk.

“You guys in the media say that,” he said. “I’m not old. I’m a football player. Only you guys bring up my age.”

A teammate told him, either you’re old, or good. Which one is it?

The answer: He’s both.

If this is what it means to be old, we should all drink whatever Williams is drinking. The 33-year-old veteran has found the fountain of football youth, in the process becoming a savior for the Steelers.

Maybe that’s a bit much, but it’s also not far off. Ben Roethlisberger was already slated to waltz into the Hall of Fame before starting the season with six touchdown passes in two games. The Steelers’ defense has improved dramatically, holding the Redskins and Bengals to 16 points each. But one of the primary keys to the Steelers and their 2-0 start is Williams, a castoff from Carolina who spends too much time on Twitter cracking inappropriate jokes and is ancient by football standards. He has become one of the best backup players in the history of the NFL.

In fact, it is not insane, or an overstatement, to say that Williams is one of the most underrated backs—starter or backup—in league history.

If you’re looking for a modern comparison to what Williams has become, he’s the Jimmy Garoppolo of the Steelers. Garoppolo’s shoulder injury aside, the Patriots quarterback is just good enough—more than good enough, actually—to hold Tom Brady’s place …

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