There was some great quarterback play Sunday and it didn\’t come from the well talked about, and highly hyped, Washington Redskins rookie Robert Griffin III as Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was head and shoulders better than the one that they call RG3 at Heinz Field.
Roethlisberger was 24-of-33 for 222 yards with three touchdowns on Sunday as the Steelers notched their fourth win of the season, 27-12 over the Redskins.
Griffincompleted just 16-of-34 passes in the game for 177 yards and received no help from his receiving group, who had 10 drops on the afternoon.
Running back Jonathan Dwyer, who was making his second straight start in place of the injured Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman, carried 17 times for 107 yards in the win. Dwyer did injure his quad late in the game, though, and his status will be reevaluated on Monday.
Roethlisberger was excellent in the first half as he led the Steelers offense to scores on their first four possessions on the way to a 20-6 lead into halftime. The first half performance included Roethlisberger going 6-of-7 on the opening drive of the game that culminated with a 1-yard touchdown pass to seldom used tight end Leonard Pope on fourth down.
After the Griffin-led offense went three and out following the Steelers touchdown, Roethlisberger directed the offense on another solid drive that resulted in a 48-yard field goal by kicker Shaun Suisham to give the Steelers a 10-0 lead entering the second quarter.
The Redskins offense could not find rhythm on the ground or through the air against the Steelers defense as Griffin and fellow rookie running back Alfred Morris were held to just 67 combined yards rushing.
The Redskins only managed one touchdown in the game and it came when Griffin hit wide receiver Santana Moss with a 2-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 11:33 left in the half. The extra point that followed the score was blocked and kept the score 10-6 in favor of the Steelers.
The Steelers offense answered with a 10-play, 73-yard drive of its own that culminated with tight end Heath Miller scoring on a pass from Roethlisberger from 7 yards out to make it 17-6 after the extra point. Suisham would tack on 3 more points just before the intermission via a 27-yard field goal.
The Redskins opening drive of the second half resulted in a 48-yard field goal by kicker Kai Forbath to cut the Steelers lead to 11 with 11:52 left in the third quarter, but Roethlisberger and the offense answered that score back again with an 11 play, 80 yard drive that culminated with a Roethlisberger short touchdown pass to fullback Will Johnson.
The Redskins would only add another Forbath field goal early in the fourth quarter as the Redskins receivers went on a dropped pass spree that killed what little second half momentum that they could muster.
The Steelers moved to 4-3 on the season with the win and will now go back on the road next Sunday to face the New York Giants.
