3S.Steelers Young Star Will Wear Marshawn Kneeland’s Jersey Under His Own in Honor of the Promise They Never Got to Finish
Pittsburgh, PA — When the Steelers take the field against the Chargers this Sunday, one player won’t be playing for just himself, or even just for Pittsburgh. Roman Wilson has confirmed he will wear a Cowboys No. 94 jersey beneath his black-and-gold uniform — a silent tribute to Marshawn Kneeland, his best friend, college teammate, and the man who never got the chance to finish the dream they built together.
They were a two-man blueprint at Michigan: one catching touchdowns, the other wrecking backfields. One offense, one defense. Same dorm, same workouts, same promise: “If we make the league, we make it together.”They talked about the Steelers more than any other team. They imagined picking out a house in Pittsburgh, showing up to camp wearing the same colors, proving the world wrong side by side.
The NFL split them — but not in the way they feared. Kneeland landed in Dallas. Wilson was drafted by Pittsburgh. They didn’t complain. They turned the promise into a joke instead.“Fine, we’ll see who hits who first,” Kneeland texted after signing with the Cowboys. Their dream wasn’t dead. Just rewritten. Different jerseys. Same field. Same friendship. Until the injury happened. And the silence after it.
A shoulder injury, a depth-chart slide, and the kind of pressure that doesn’t show up on an MRI took Kneeland out of rhythm — and slowly, out of reach. The loud, laughing, unstoppable defensive end turned quiet. Teammates saw a rehab schedule. Roman saw something heavier. But even he didn’t seethat message coming — the one Kneeland sent hours before his life stopped moving, the one Roman opened too late.
“If I can’t stand next to you in the league like we promised… take me with you anyway. Wear my number. That way I still made it.”
Roman said nothing for days. He didn’t post a tribute. He didn’t chase cameras. He just folded the No. 94 jersey, pressed it against his chest, and made a new promise — the kind only a brother makes when the first one dies unfinished.
“He’s not gone if he’s still on the field. If I have to carry him out there, then I will.”
Wilson admitted the truth no headline wanted to print: Kneeland didn’t fall because he was weak — he fell under the weight of a dream that slipped away too fast. The injury hurt his body. The broken promise hurt his soul. Roman won’t let people remember his friend for how his life ended… but for the kind of man he was when the lights were still on.
Steelers’ TJ Watt sends message after ‘smashing’ Colts’ run game
Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt knew exactly what won them the game. Minutes after a 27–20 win over the Indianapolis Colts, Watt laid out the blueprint that flipped the game: “It started with smashing the run first and foremost. Playing fast, playing physical football, playing simplified football,” he said in an interview shared by reporter Mike DeFabo on X.
Pittsburgh mauled the trenches, held Indianapolis to 55 rushing yards on 19 attempts, and turned Daniel Jones into a turnover machine. The Steelers forced six takeaways and piled up five sacks
, a throwback brand of chaos that powered 24 unanswered points after trailing 7–0. Jaylen Warren finished the drives with two short touchdowns, while Aaron Rodgers managed the game with 203 yards and a 12-yard strike to Pat Freiermuth.
The sequence that changed everything looked familiar to Steelers fans. Watt knifed around the edge for a second-quarter strip sack, Alex Highsmith kept the heat on all afternoon, and the secondary feasted. Rookie linebacker Payton Wilson and cornerback Joey Porter Jr. grabbed interceptions as Pittsburgh turned short fields into points and a two-score cushion it never lost.
Numbers back it up. Jonathan Taylor, the league’s leading rusher coming in, managed 45 yards on 14 carries. Jones stacked yards late (342, 1 TD) but coughed up
three interceptions and two lost fumbles under relentless pressure. Pittsburgh’s offense didn’t need style points; it needed mistake-free football and field position. It got both.
If there was a single “turning point,” local radio pegged Watt’s strip sack as the spark that woke up Acrisure Stadium. From there, the Steelers’ rush and coverage tied together, the tackling tightened, and Mike Tomlin’s group closed like a veteran unit.
The message afterward was simple. Pittsburgh cleaned up the run fits, hunted takeaways, and played on its terms. For a defense that took it on the chin the past two weeks, this was a needed course correction and a reminder of the ceiling when No. 90 sets the tempo. Smash the run, speed the game up, and let the ball find you. On Sunday, it did, six times.
