If they pass, which is to say if they see themselves honestly and go back to work on the long project of going from genuinely terrible to sustainably good, they’ll be just fine.
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The Steelers went 2-for-2 on fourth down conversions on the night.
Trailing early in the second quarter on Monday night and his team well within field goal range, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin could have opted for a field goal that would have cut Washington’s lead in half. “They always have been pretty dang good against the run”.
“If we can win a football game and I don’t have to be in that spot, then I would take the win”.
Brown caught eight passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns for Pittsburgh (1-0). His bounced throw on a simple, short third-down pass at the Steelers’ 5-yard line in the first quarter is the kind of major squander that can’t happen much, if at all, in the modern NFL. He also threw two interceptions, and his “prove-it” season is off to a miserable start. They let Alfred Morris walk in free agency and it’s just Matt Jones and Chris Thompson back there. Rogers certainly made a name for himself against Washington, catching six passes for 89 yards.
However, Roethlisberger directed a 13-play, 73-yard touchdown drive that took 7:13 off the clock. Washington played just three teams with winning records all year and had just two games against playoff teams.
“We’re used to that – making plays”, Williams said.
Brown probably generated a few letters to the FCC with his NSFW-ish end-zone dance following a second touchdown catch from Roethlisberger. Their leading wide receiver was DeSean Jackson with 6 catches for 102 yards.
Washington gained only 55 yards on the ground.
The Bengals appeared to have things well in hand with the ball in Pittsburgh territory and the lead with less than two minutes to go only to see the Steelers rally for an improbable win following an epic meltdown by the Bengals.
Although both QBs didn’t play as well as they could, this game came down to the D-line and the O-line.
Maybe the Steelers should turn to him and make him the permanent starter as he is the guy who can clearly be a workhorse back and Bell has shown the inability to stay out of trouble. Kerrigan tried to pick it up, lost it and the Steelers retained possession on their 13 and drove down for their first score.
Run defense has been an issue for the Redskins in recent seasons, as they surrendered 4.8 yards per carry in 2015, which ranked 31st in the NFL. “The fans travel well for the Steelers”, ex-Pittsburgh and current Washington defensive lineman Ziggy Hood said.
The conservative plan, especially with the score just 6-0 in favor of Washington, would have been to kick a field goal.
In that game, Pittsburgh gained 435 total yards of offense, including 143 rushing yards from running back DeAngelo Williams.
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“I had confidence going in but like we said several times confidence only goes so far; those guys gotta deliver the plays”, Tomlin said.
