PITTSBURGH - When the Steelers went shopping for defensive backs in the preseason, they turned to a familiar name: Willie Williams.

The Steelers' sixth-round draft pick of 1993 spent four years in Pittsburgh before signing as a free agent with Seattle.

After spending seven seasons with the Seahawks, a youth movement made Williams expendable in Seattle and available for Pittsburgh to re-acquire in May 2004.

The wisdom of the move was apparent after starting cornerback Chad Scott went down with a serious knee injury in the Steelers' 24-20 come-from-behind win in Dallas that nearly cost Scott his entire season.

In the ensuing weeks, Williams proved he was a worthy replacement in the starting lineup, as well as being an inspiration for the younger players on the Steelers defense, a role he downplays.

"I just tell everybody that it's not going to be easy, that it's going to get tough," Williams said. "We just have a lot of guys that have that will to win."

The cornerback certainly displayed that will last Saturday when he helped Pittsburgh survive a 20-17 overtime scare from the New York Jets in their AFC Division Playoff game.

When the smoke had cleared, Williams ended up leading the Steelers in tackles with 11 and three pass defenses.

Williams also pressured Jets quarterback Chad Pennington into throwing an incomplete pass. He also kept receiver Santana Moss from catching what would have been a sure touchdown pass.

"I thought I had great coverage, but (Moss) gave me a little stiff arm that pushed me back some," Williams said. "I just had to keep running because he had a step on me.

"When the ball went up, I just had to play the ball, take a dive and hope that I could knock the ball away," he added.

Apparently Williams has the Jets' number because he recorded 10 tackles and four pass defenses in Pittsburgh's 17-6 win Dec. 12.

"I've been telling people about Willie Williams all year that he's the unsung hero," said linebacker Larry Foote.

"When Chad (Scott) went down, we really didn't know about (Williams). But he stepped up and he's been playing great," he added.

In his 11 regular season starts, Williams recorded 56 tackles, including 41 solos, and also had one sack and one interception.

Playoff games are entirely different animals, however, Williams said.

"This game is a game of inches, so you just have to put yourself into position to make plays," he said.

"One thing I told myself before going out on the field is that it's do or die and to lay it all out on the field, plus my teammates did that as well," he said.

As Foote prepares to take the field with Williams for Sunday's AFC Championship Game with the New England Patriots, he knows already how to sum up Williams' contributions to the Steelers' effort:

"I don't know what type of award he should get, but he should get one," Foote said.