'It Hurts Me a Lot,' Says Commanders CB Benjamin St-Juste After TD Play

Following the Washington Commanders' loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Benjamin St-Juste took accountability for giving up a critical touchdown.

Nov 10, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Mike Williams (18) catches a touchdown pass as Washington Commanders cornerback Benjamin St-Juste (25) defends late in the second half at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

LANDOVER, Md. -- It's the fourth quarter in Week 10 of the NFL season and the Washington Commanders are leading the Pittsburgh Steelers by six points.

There's a little more than two minutes left in the game and it's 3rd-and-9 at the Commanders' 32-yard line.

Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson is in shotgun with a running back next to him and three skill position players lined up to the right side of the formation. To his left is receiver Mike Williams matched up against Washington cornerback Benjamin St-Juste.

Wilson loves throwing a good deep ball to the sideline. Williams is at his best running those types of routes. And the play ends in a Pittsburgh touchdown that leads to the one-point lead the team would ultimately win by.

Nov 10, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Mike Williams (18) catches a touchdown pass as Washington Commanders cornerback Benjamin St-Juste (25) defends late in the second half at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

"Just got to know my personnel and just play the fade and come back down to play any other routes," St-Juste said about the play after the Commanders' third loss of the season. "Sometimes I get caught up in trying to make the play so much that I try to guard everything in these situations. You got to pick and choose and you got to pick the right option."

The right option in this case as St-Juste illustrated would be to defend the deep ball and be ready to close and corral anything underneath if that's the route the Steelers targeted. Identifying trends, St-Juste knows where he went wrong and vowed on the record to be better the next time a similar scenario presented itself.

"We got something special and we want to protect it," says St-Juste. "That's why it hurts me a lot that I give up that play."

Its this kind of accountability that will help St-Juste and his team learn from this latest misstep. Doing so quickly will be important this week more than others because Washington has three days before traveling north to face the Philadelphia Eagles who are now first place in the NFC East Division after defeating the Dallas Cowboys this weekend.

With weapons like A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith its likely St-Juste is going to get challenged on another deep ball, likely in a key situation, and will get his chance to put the hard lesson learned to good use.

---

Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2024 season.

More Washington Commanders News

• Commanders Shouldn't Panic After Steelers Loss

• Commanders' Dante Fowler Jr. Makes History vs. Steelers

• Commanders Fall in Tough Loss vs. Steelers

• Commanders Week 10: Key Milestones and Matchup Against Steelers