When the 2024 schedule for the Pittsburgh Steelers was released during the offseason, the Week 10 road trip to take on the Washington Commanders was viewed as a nice, easy game for the Black and Gold to get back from the bye week from, considering the Commanders haven’t been all the good historically.
That’s why they play the games though.
Through the first nine weeks of the season the Commanders are one of the best teams and stories in the NFL. Sitting at 7-2, the Commanders look like a legitimate contender in the NFC with star rookie QB Jayden Daniels leading the way.
Now, that matchup for the Steelers looks very daunting on paper.
“This is a 5-star matchup. We know that they’re a good team. We’re going into their building and it’s gonna be a tough environment for any other football team,” Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. told Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo Wednesday night on The Insiders, according to video via NFL Network. “But I feel like the coaching that we’ve been through and the situations that Coach [Mike] Tomlin put us in, this is going to just be another Sunday for us, and we just gotta show up and play football. But Jayden Daniels, he been putting great, great stuff on tape. He’s coming in hot.
“Him and his coordinator got a great understanding of how to make the offense run through him as a rookie. And I can’t say nothing but good things about how he’s been playing.”
Based on the way these two teams are playing this season, it will be a five-star matchup. Daniels is having one heck of a rookie season as a dual-threat quarterback. He’s taking care of the football, making plays down the field and avoiding the mistakes that hinder young quarterbacks.
He’s leaning on his playmakers, too, leading to some big plays for the third-highest scoring offense in football this season at 29.3 points per game. Defensively, the Commanders are very solid, too, and are playing some good football under head coach Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr.
On paper, the two teams match up well with both having explosive offenses that run the football well and avoid the mistakes, while also having good defenses that take the football away.
Though it’s in the 1 p.m. window, it’s a big-time matchup and a real proving ground for the two teams at the midway point of the season. Buckle up for the five-star matchup.
