Both of Antonio Brown’s TDs came against Breeland. DeAngelo Williams had 149 yards on the ground and averaged 5.5 yards per carry against a Redskins defense that struggled against the run a year ago. Trailing 6 to 0 in the 2nd quarter on a 4th and 1 from the Washington 29, Pittsburgh made a decision to roll the dice and go for it. Again the issue will be that Cousins will have to do it all alone if he does not get a running game.
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“The call came from the sideline”.
“We have to create more disruption”, Tomlin said.
“They took us behind the woodshed today and wore our tail out”, Norman said. “That’s the way to make them right and make a play”.
After winning the NFC East last season despite never beating a team with a winning record, the Redskins opened this season with a dismal 38-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night.
“When anyone’s on [Brown], that’s a matchup we like”, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said.
Conversely the Redskins were 0-for-2 on fourth down and 3-for-10 on third.
“He’s a good corner”, Washington coach Jay Gruden said of Breeland.
“I’m just ready for Dallas”, Breeland said. Brown led the wide receivers with eight receptions for 126 yards, and he grabbed two touchdowns to help solidify the win. Williams had everything working, including a backbreaking 15-yard touchdown run as he split two defenders like a point guard. He threw two interceptions and saw his streak of 16 straight regular-season games (17 overall) with a touchdown pass snapped.
DeSean Jackson had six catches for 102 yards for Washington (0-1). Pittsburgh went on to score a touchdown on that drive, and took all the momentum from there.
Midway through the third quarter, Brown caught a 26-yard touchdown pass to give Pittsburgh a 24-6 lead.
“That’s a huge drive for us because we used time and scored”, Roethlisberger said.
At the Redskins’ 29, they had two choices – kick a field goal or go for the first down. Pittsburgh is 4-1 when opening the season on Monday night, and the Steelers’ 44-24 record on MNF is third-best in the National Football League behind Seattle (23-6) and San Francisco (47-25).
Hopping Hopkins: Washington kicker Dustin Hopkins made all three of his field-goal attempts, connecting from 31, 40 and 34 yards.
Just like last year, Cousins and the Redskins lost a home game to an AFC opponent (last year it was the Dolphins).
“They had momentum the early part of the game”, Tomlin sad.
A couple of defensive notes for the Redskins: Mason Foster and Will Compton looked really good as the starting tandem at the middle linebacker position. Here’s your Steelers Morning Huddle for Tuesday, Sept. 13. The Redskins have a long way to go to be a good team. They could not stop the run. The pass was intended for Coates but cornerback Bashaud Breeland jumped the quick slant and the ball bounced directly to Rogers for the score. Roethlisberger’s pass from the 3-yard line hit receiver Sammie Coates and then Rogers’ facemask before he finished the grab.
Mike Tomlin isn’t a doctor and, he adds, neither is Ryan Shazier. Washington WR Pierre Garcon started his 100th career game. Top corner Josh Norman was kept to one side of the field and matched with Brown only a handful of times.
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That’s what Ben Roethlisberger did. However, on fourth-and-6, safety Robert Golden stopped Thompson inches short after a reception at the Steelers’ 33 to thwart that threat.
