Pittsburgh’s bid for perfection falls short
PITTSBURGH — The Steelers spent three months shaking off whatever 2020 threw at them. Schedule changes. Injuries to a handful of impact players. The everpresent threat of the coronavirus.
Through the chaos, they kept winning. Sometimes pretty. Sometimes ugly. Sometimes a little of both in the same game. Through it all, they insisted they were well aware of their flaws. pointing out time and again the only thing perfect about them was their record.
So much for that. Pittsburgh’s bid for an unbeaten season is over. Washington’s — yes, Washington’s — quest for an unlikely division title might be just starting.
Alex Smith threw for 296 yards and a touchdown, Dustin Hopkins kicked a tiebreaking 45yard field goal with 2: 04 remaining, and Washington rallied for a 2317 victory Monday in one of the biggest surprises of the NFL season.
“We’ve been down for such a long time and we’re trying to rebuild ourselves and build up,” firstyear head coach Ron Rivera said. “This is something we can build off of.”
The Steelers ( 111) missed a chance to clinch a playoff berth and dropped into a tie with defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City for the best record in the AFC with four weeks remaining. They squandered a 14point lead.
“It stinks,” Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “Been a while since we lost a game. It’s not a good feeling.”
The Steelers were heavy favorites facing a team that hadn’t won three straight since 2018 and hadn’t won in Pittsburgh since 1991. Washington won the Super Bowl that season. The club’s expectations this year are far more modest. Yet a day after the New York Giants won at Seattle, Washington ( 57) kept pace while giving the lowly NFC East its second marquee victory in 25ish hours.
“We’re on a roll,” said defensive end Montez Sweat, who knocked down three Roethlisberger passes. “This is the kind of football we’ve been wanting to play since Game 1.”
It’s the kind of football the Steelers had played since Game 1. The best start in the franchise’s 87year history came to an abrupt halt on a rare Monday lateafternoon game. The NFL pushed the matchup back a day as part of the fallout from a virus outbreak in Baltimore that forced the league to postpone the Ravens’ visit to Heinz Field three times.
Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin insisted his club would not use the disruption as an excuse. But the weight of what the Steelers have been dealing with, combined with secondhalf injuries to inside linebacker Robert Spillane and cornerback Joe Haden, made for a tough day.