NFL Network put out a highlight reel on Thursday, showcasing the best routes run in the 2025 season, and given the team's struggles to find talent at the wide receiver position, it might surprise you to find a Pittsburgh Steelers player on the list.
But not only did Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III make the list, the landed in the top spot. NFL Network said Austin's route to secure a game-winning touchdown in the final minute of the Steelers' AFC North-clinching win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18 was the best route run in the league this season.
Trailing by four with just under a minute to play, the Steelers had a 3rd and 10 at the Baltimore 26-yard-line. The Steelers were sure to go for it on fourth down if they did not convert the first down, and they could have tried to gain some yardage on third down to set up an easier play on fourth. When quarterback Aaron Rodgers took the snap, he looked first to his left, where he had running back Kenneth Gainwell slipping out of the backfield, in one-on-one coverage with a Baltimore defensive back — which could definitely pick up the required yardage.
But Rodgers instead looked deeper, and found Austin wide open in the end zone for a go-ahead Steelers score.
He was wide open because of that great route he ran. Ravens cornerback Chidobe Awuzie was giving the speedy Austin an 8-yard cushion at the snap. When Austin hesitated five yards down field, Awuzie planted his spikes, assuming that Austin was breaking off his route, looking for one of those intermediate gains to set up a fourth and short.
But Austin merely hesitated, instead stepping on the gas and streaking down the sideline. Awuzie stumbled while trying to react, falling to the ground at the 15-yard line, and leaving Austin completely uncovered for the Steelers touchdown.
The route almost didn't happen, Rodgers said after the game. The play wasn't designed to go to Austin, and the route he ended up running didn't get decided until the huddle before the snap.
"Multiple times [over the course of the game] in the huddle I'm asking him on various plays, what do you want on the backside, what do you want on the backside? He wouldn't give me a straight answer," Rodgers said. "And on this particular huddle conversation I said, 'What do you want, Cal?'
"And somebody to my right, I don't know if it was [Mason] McCormick or Pat [Freiermuth] said just go cook 'em or something. I said, all right, Cal, you run a hitch-and-go back there. I was really thinking the front side three-man combination that we worked and had success with most of the night was kind of my first thought. I peeked back to the left and saw [Awuzie] slip, and that's a gimme touchdown."
The other top 10 routes were run by Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Quentin Johnson, Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey against the Steelers, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba , New England Patriots veteran Stefon Diggs , Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua , Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce , Los Angeles Rams slot receiver Tutu Atwell , Chicago Bears wide receiver D.J. Moore and Nacua for a second time.
Austin is a free agent this offseason, and said on Feb. 9 that he's unsure if he'll be asked to return.
"Pittsburgh, just being real, they might not want me, or they have a different vision," Austin said. "And that's why I say at the end of the day. It's just straight business decision. … One thing is for sure, I love Pittsburgh. The fans the people, the city. I truly love it. And so I would definitely want to continue to make that home."
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Unheralded Steelers WR Ran the Best Route of the 2025 NFL Season
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