Both the player and team will hope that next Sunday’s game against the visiting Dallas Cowboys, featuring a pair of NFC East teams that are 0-1, works out better than Week 1: Cousins threw two interceptions, didn’t have a touchdown pass, and the Redskins lost 38-16 to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night.
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If Monday night’s season-opening 38-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers serves as any indication of things to come this season, the Redskins could wind up paying the price for their neglect up front.
The Washington Redskins offense was constantly moving the ball downfield throughout the first three quarters, but only had three field goals to show for it.
Steelers Wire’s Curt Popejoy cites a tweet by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that the move to take Shazier out of the game for the fourth quarter was precautionary, that there was no structural damage to his knee and everything is all good.
“The call came from the sideline”.
“Not scoring a touchdown until late there in the game and having some opportunities to make some plays that we didn’t make – we’re a little disappointed with the performance of everybody on offense”, the coach said.
So much for early concerns about the Pittsburgh Steelers, who made good on one of head coach Mike Tomlin’s favorite coaching mantras. They did a good job of converting and playing situational football.
It was the seventh pass attempt on just two run attempts when Ben Roethlisberger’s sack-fumble was saved by Maurkice Pouncey. Simply put, nobody can cover the guy, because even when someone like Breeland puts tight coverage on him, Brown still makes the play. Quarterback Kirk Cousins did not seem overly concerned about the running game. “They just made some great throws and great catches”.
“That’s the approach we took for this week”, he said.
He would finish the possession with a touchdown pass to Rogers, with some help by second-year receiver Sammie Coates, and a 14-6 halftime lead. After several big completions, the Redskins drove 77-yards and scored their first touchdown to cut into the Pittsburgh lead 24-16.
The best part about that play?
On a third-and-3 in the third quarter with the score 17-6, Roethlisberger again hooked up with Brown for a 26-yard score that all but sealed the win. “We’re very aggressive”, Mitchell said.
By completing the eight passes to Brown, Roethlisberger became the first quarterback in National Football League history with at least 500 completions to three different receivers – Brown (502), Hines Ward (512) and Heath Miller (540).
Washington gained only 55 yards on the ground.
Pittsburgh’s dynamic duo connected again on a 26 yard touchdown pass, a attractive over the shoulder catch.
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RB DeAngelo Williams touched the ball eight times on the 13 snaps that followed, and at the end of what became a 73-yard march in 7:13 it wasn’t a one-score game any more.
