Perspective Of An Average Steelers Fan: Funky Good Win In Washington

The Pittsburgh Steelers played against the 7-2 Washington Commanders Sunday. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels came into this game with just two interceptions. Plus, he averaged 51 yards rushing a game. Washington played without running back Brian Robinson Jr. But Austin Ekeler had a robust 5.6 yards per attempt and a 54-percent successful run rate. He is also a capable receiver. Then there is Terry McLaurin and tight end Zach Ertz, who are receiving targets for Daniels.

Their defense ranked in the top five against the pass, but their rushing defense 29th. And Washington had lost its kicker Austin Seibert, who leads the NFL with 25 field goals, to a hip injury. Could Danny Smith and the special team unit exploit this?

Pittsburgh was relatively healthy coming off a bye week. Nick Herbig had been ruled out, Terrell Edmunds released after missing practice due to illness. The Steelers also released Jonathan Ward. This made room for Tyler Matakevich and wide receiver Ben Skowronek on the 53-man roster, both special team players. Wide receiver Mike Williams and edge rusher Preston Smith debuted in Black and Gold uniforms. Plus, Cam Sutton had finished serving an eight-game suspension.

I wondered if any of these players would make a splash play. Washington had only three turnovers all season. Also, Washington led the league with 60.7 percent of its possessions ending with a score. Pittsburgh must stifle its offense and the Steelers’ offense needs a fast start to neutralize the Commanders’ running attack.

Oh, and the Commanders gave all their fans burgundy rally flags to try to negate the effect of the Terrible Towel.

Funky Game, But a Win

In my opinion, the Steelers dominated the first half. But two miscues shifted in favor of Washington. The first was James Pierre dropping the ball on the fake punt.  That could have gone for long yardage. Instead, the Commanders tied the game, 7-7, after Pierre’s drop gave them a short field. The second miscue was penalties on Joey Porter Jr and Deshon Elliott when Alex Highsmith sacked Jayden Daniels at the Washington 6-yard line. Instead of second and 16, the flags silenced the crowd, and Washington drove down the field to take a 17-14 lead. I did not understand how intentional grounding was not called on Daniels during that drive.

But the Steelers scored two touchdowns in the first half, including one on a Russell Wilson pass to George Pickens.

Then following the muffed punt recovered by Ben Skowronek, Wilson found Pat Freiermuth, who bulled his way across the goal line.

The second half started badly. Washington opened with a 54-yard pass on the first play. Porter had to chase McLaurin down from behind. McLaurin caught another pass to the 1-yard line. And Washington had a 24-14 lead two minutes into the third quarter.

Offense Answers

But the Steelers’ offense got the Black and Gold crowd cheering by answering with its own touchdown. A deep pass to Pickens put them in the red zone. And Najee Harris capped it with a score. But this game swung back and forth. Well over half the fans attending the game wore Black and Gold. And they were quiet after Corliss Waitman had a rare 34-yard shank from the end zone that went out of bounds at the Pittsburgh 46. Recently acquired Preston Smith sacked Daniels, and the Commanders settled for a field goal. But that meant no late Chris Boswell heroics to tie the game. The Steelers needed a touchdown down 27-21.

Wilson threw a long interception with an apparent long return, and our hopes dimmed a bit. Luckily review showed that George Pickens did contact the defender who intercepted the pass before tackling another Commander so it amounted to a long punt.

Emotions Rose

Emotions rose when Cam Heyward chased Daniels down for an 11-yard sack. As Pittsburgh drove down the field, we urged the team on during a drive featuring Jaylen Warren. We went nuts when he fought his way for a first down at the 1-yard line. Just as suddenly we were silenced and the Washington fans cheered when it turned out to be a lost fumble. Whoever handles the stadium replays in Washington does a horrible job. The replays rarely gave a clear view of the fumble or other close calls or penalties.

The defense forced a punt. And then on third and nine, Wilson tossed a moon ball from his heels. Mike Williams, another new acquisition, caught the ball in the end zone. And the stadium erupted in a blaze of yellow towels and throaty cheers.

But there was still 2:22 to play. The defense had to make a stop. No excuses. Keeanu Benton made a diving tackle to stop Daniels on a keeper. There was no one in front of him to prevent him reaching field-goal range. Clutch tackle.

James Pierre helped redeem himself after an earlier miscue by defending a pass on third and nine. On fourth down, Damontae Kazee and Minkah Fitzpatrick converged on Zach Ertz. This was the rare time that replay clearly showed Ertz with his knee down short of the first down.

But it was still not time to relax. Steelers had the ball with 1:18 left and Washington had all three of its timeouts. Cordarrelle Patterson gained seven on third down. Would the Steelers go for it on fourth and one?

They lined up. And Washington jumped, drawn offsides by a hard count. And it is bedlam. A funky win. But still a win. Here we go.

Special Teams

Special teams are an underappreciated facet of the game where one big play can shift momentum or even decide the game winner. The new kickoff rules should test the special team coordinator’s ability to adapt to the changes.

Here is an overview of the special teams play during the game:

KICKOFFS

Both teams elected to kick into the designated landing zone to see if they could stop their opponent behind the 30-yard line. Pittsburgh returned five of six kickoffs and Washington returned four of five. Jaylen Warren had one decent 35-yard return, but Cordarrelle Patterson was tackled behind the 30 on all three of his returns. He looked slow compared to the other returners. Austin Ekeler gashed the Steelers’ coverage unit for 29.5 yards a return. He reached the Commanders’ 46-yard line on one. Luckily, the Steelers defense forced a punt despite the short field for Washington.

THE STATS

Advantage Washington.

PUNTING

Corliss Waitman punted five times. Olamide Zaccheaus muffed two of them. And Ben Skowronek recovered one at the Commanders’ 14-yard line. Pat Freiermuth scored a touchdown to give the Steelers an early 14-7 lead off this takeaway. Waitman had two subpar punts, including one he shanked from the end zone that went out of bounds at the Pittsburgh 42-yard line. The Commanders exploited the field position for a field goal and a 27-21 second-half lead.

Tress Way boomed some punts, including one for 74-yards that almost went out at the goal line but bounced into the end zone. Calvin Austin III gambled on a return from the Steelers’ 7-yard line but was tackled immediately. He had a 17-yard key return in the fourth quarter to the Washington 46. The Steelers scored the winning touchdown after that return.

Of course, there was the fake punt from the Steelers’ 15-yard line. Yes, it gave Washington a touchdown, but it was a perfect call. James Pierre dropped an easy pass. He was clear for the first down and if caught cleanly had a lane to the end zone.

The botched fake punt and muffed punt recovery cancel each other out. The Steelers still get the edge with Austin’s return and another muffed punt by Zaccheaus. Ben Skowronek proved his worth as a returning gunner.

THE STATS

Advantage Steelers.

FIELD GOALS AND EXTRA POINTS

Chris Boswell kicked four extra points. He attempted no field goals.

Newly signed Zane Gonzalez kicked three extra points and two field goals. A holding call should have negated one of them. Donte Jackson had a clear path to block the kick before being yanked down from behind.

THE STATS

Advantage Washington.

The Banter Bar

What an experience. That was the most Steelers fans I have seen at an away game. Easily over half the crowd was in Black and Gold. In the lots, Steelers fans from all over greeted one another. Pennsylvania, Texas, Jersey, North Carolina, Indiana: it truly is Steeler Nation. The Washington Commanders handed out burgundy rally towels to try to match their team colors when the Terrible Towels were waving. But when the stadium announcer asked the Commanders fans to wave their rally flags, all you saw was a sea of yellow.

Before the game, Cordarrelle Patterson played catch with Steelers fans in the stands. One of my favorite sights was new Steeler Preston Smith walking off the field after the game. A teammate had an arm draped over his shoulder. He was pointing at the stands showing Smith all the fans waving their towels still cheering the team about 10 minutes after the final whistle.

There are no bars or restaurants within easy walking distance of the stadium. So, we walked back to the Red Lot where we had tailgated. That is also the designated share ride pickup spot. It was jammed with hundreds of people waiting for their rides. But a number of tailgaters had leftover refreshments. And a group from Jersey broke out huge speakers and started playing James Brown. Next thing you know, there are Steelers fans grooving to the funky music as the day faded into night and a light rain fell. Just waiting for their ride, swaying to the music.

YOUR HOT TAKES DURING THE GAME

Thank you, Ross McCorkle, for keeping us up to date on the game’s Live Update and Discussion Threads. Steelers Depot respondents contributed 1,036 first-half comments. Respondents added 1,745 more second-half comments.  Here are the top three comments from each half.

The top first-half comments focused on the fake punt:

1. FranchisePunter: “They got the look they wanted, it couldn’t have been any more open. Pierre simply didn’t do his job. It was executed perfectly. That was on Pierre and only Pierre. He screwed up a golden opportunity for his team.” Gyula K pointed out that, “Even Ike Taylor would have caught that.”
2. JrzeeSteeler reacted like many fans: “Not mad at the call. Mad at Pierre for flubbing an easy catch.”
3. RyanM was optimistic about the Steelers offense: “It’s an awesome feeling when you don’t feel like the defense HAS to hold the other team under 13 points to have a chance.”

The top second-half comments identified weak spots despite the win:

1. Dant not in agreement about the officiating: “If they call that on Jackson they need to call it both ways!!!”
2. Deer in Headlights Tomlin observed that Alex Highsmith was punished for trying to do the right thing: “He hurt himself trying to avoid a roughing call basically.” Check it out.
3. Chris92021 was unhappy with one player’s performance: “A Roomba is a better fullback than Conner Heyward.”

We easily met the 1,000-comment standard in both halves. Hope you all enjoyed the banter.

CONCLUSION

A very important victory. We Steelers fans in the stands went through a full range of emotions. I’m sure it was the same from wherever the game was viewed. But the team never wavered. Missed on a fake punt giving the other team a score. But later in the game, the same player made a big play. Newcomers like Mike Williams and Preston Smith made huge plays. A returning player recovered a fumbled punt. And established players like Cam Heyward, George Pickens, and others did what they are expected to do.

The key is not focusing on the miscues. Don’t let that impact the next call or your next play. That is a winning attitude. A huge division game coming up. Here we go.

Your Song Selection

I always like to include a bit of music. The Steelers got down and gave the fans a funky good time. Giving us a scare with a botched fake punt from their own 15. Then scoring touchdowns when it was needed. And stuffing the Commanders when absolutely needed. Here is an extended version of Funky Good Time by James Brown. Some dudes from Jersey had this blasting in the Red Lot and Steelers fans danced to it while waiting for their share rides after the game.