No Jonesing for yards – The Redskins running game isn’t great on paper and thus the Steelers defensive front will be expected to limit the ground yards of starting running back Matt Jones, who has battled back from a preseason shoulder injury. He came through with 143 rushing yards and two touchdowns to go with 28 receiving yards on six catches. “One thing they did was play patient and force us to take stuff underneath”, says Cousins.
Advertisement
Franchise-tagged QB Kirk Cousins will pick up where he left off a year ago and start the game strong but fail to play consistently throughout the game. Washington ended the night just 3-of-10 on third down and 0-of-2 on fourth. Brown will clearly be quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s top target Monday night, but Coates could serve as an interesting fantasy football play for those in need Week 1.
On the defensive side of the ball, newly signed Josh Norman will be severely tested against Antonio Brown.
The D.C. native has watched Reed transform the Redskins’ offense in the same time, but as a 6-foot-1, 200-pound safety playing slot corner, may represent his team’s best chance of slowing Reed down. Jordan Berry punted just once in the first half for 46 yards and Eli Rogers had a fair catch on his only return attempt in the first half.
At 6-feet-5 and 240 pounds, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has proven time and again in his 12 National Football League seasons that he’s a tough mountain to topple.
Cousins’ poor night continued when he threw an interception to linebacker Ryan Shazier in the second half.
The Redskins fared no better after Bashaud Breeland’s interception gave them a first down on the Steelers 37, with Hopkins connecting again, this time from 40 yards out to make it 6-0.
Washington finally got going in the second half with another field goal. In his first full season starting for the Redskins, he put up solid numbers with 4,166 yards through the air to go along with 29 touchdowns. Brown is almost unstoppable, while the Steelers return their entire starting offensive line from 2015, which should help create holes for Williams to run through.
After Washington turned the ball over on downs, Pittsburgh added to its lead with another Williams touchdown.
If Mike Tomlin’s club is going to have a magical season, it would be nice to start it off with a road win over the defending NFC East champions. Ben Roethlisberger led the National Football League with 328.2 passing yards per game last season, and he finished with 3,938 yards and 21 touchdowns in 12 games.
“We knew it was coming; I knew it was coming”, Breeland said.
Advertisement
But even if the Redskins run defense does manage to hold its own today, the Steelers have excellent alternatives to attack the home team today. The Steelers look next to an AFC North matchup with the Bengals on September 18.
