Sep 13, 2015 3 min read

PITTSBURGH – The Steelers acquired some pretty good veteran running backs over the years. None had a better debut than DeAngelo Williams did Thursday at New England.

Williams carried the football 21 times in the Steelers’ 28-21 loss to the New England Patriots, gaining 127 yards and looking like a man much younger than the 32 his birth certificate says.

It was a better performance than Hall of Famers Jerome Bettis or John Henry Johnson had in their Pittsburgh debuts and also eclipsed the starts LeGarrette Blount, Erric Pegram and Earnest Jackson had in their first games as Steelers.

“He had a tremendous night,” said Steelers fullback Will Johnson. “His reads were perfect.”

It’s what the Steelers expected of Williams when they signed him following his release in the spring by the Carolina Panthers, for whom he played the first nine seasons of his NFL career.

The all-time leading rusher for the Panthers, Williams appeared in only six games last year because of injuries, rushing for 219 yards on 62 carries, both career lows.

But the Steelers believed the veteran would be an ideal backup and two-game replacement for Le’Veon Bell, who is serving a two-game suspension to open the season for violation of the NFL’s drug policy.

Williams’ 21 carries were his most in nearly two years. He had 23 carries for 120 yards against the New York Giants, Sept. 22, 2013. That also was his last 100-yard game.

“It was not bad, but I was not happy with the outcome,” Williams said. “I was the product of great blocking from the offensive line. My whole mindset going out there was to not let one guy bring me down.”

Williams will get another start this week as the Steelers host San Francisco Sunday. He will be trying for his first back-to-back 100-yard games since 2009 against Arizona and New Orleans. The Steelers aren’t betting against him doing so.

“I thought he stepped up and did some great things for his first time out there with a lot of outside question marks,” said Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. “But we believed in him the whole time. We were confident in what he could do.”

Williams never doubted his ability.

He used his release by Carolina as motivation. He lost 15 pounds in an effort to regain some of the speed that helped make him a 1,500-yard rusher for the Panthers in 2008.

“Last season wasn’t the ideal season that I wanted to have. Having one team give up on you and another team give you an opportunity, I think I am … ‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.'”

After being off Saturday and Sunday, the Steelers will return to practice today. … Bell will be eligible to practice Sept. 21.