The Pittsburgh Steelers’ undefeated run has come to an end Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, when the Washington Football Team handed them their first loss of the season. The loss caused them to miss an opportunity to clinch a playoff berth by dropping into a tie with the Chiefs for the AFC leader.
Franchise Best Start
11-0 was the best start Pittsburgh has had in their history even though the offense had its ups and down moments. This game that had been rescheduled due to COVID-19 would expose those small mistakes the Steelers were getting away with which became their Achilles heel.
Big Ben said:
It stinks, It’s been a while since we lost a game. It’s not a good feeling
The Steelers were 10-point favorites to win this game while Washington was on a two-game winning streak. They had not won three games in a row since 2018 and had not won in Pittsburgh since 1991.
Steelers Coach Tomlin
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin stated that one of their major challenges in the game was possession downs. They were in the red zone twice in the game and could not convert those possessions into points.
Pittsburgh’s defense has been keeping the team in games whereby the plays and miss cues of the offense in those games would have gone in the loss column.
Recap Games One Thru Five
The Steelers’ run for perfection started week one on Monday Night Football when that took on the New York Giants. Pittsburgh could not get their offensive juices flowing in this game until T.Watt intercepted Jones and the Steelers went 36-yards down the field for their first touchdown of the game.
In the second half, the defense had to come to the rescue again as the Giants were driving down the field 87-yards in 19-plays. On a second and three play on the Steelers four-yard line, C.Heyward intercepted a Jones pass intended for D.Slayton in the endzone for a touchback.
In the second game for the Steelers, the defense caused a fumble by the Broncos which was converted into a touchdown. They intercepted a J.Driskel pass and it was converted into a field goal. The Steelers won this game by four points.
In their third game with the Texans, the defense again intercepted Deshawn Watson and it was converted into a touchdown that put the Steelers on top to win the game 28-21.
In the next game with the Eagles, the offense was putting points on the board along with the defenses two interceptions they won this game easily.
The fifth game with the Browns was a defensive shutdown of the browns offense. They intercepted Baker Mayfield twice and took one of them to the house for a touchdown to dominate the Browns in win five.
Recap Games Six Thru Ten
In game six with the Titans, the defense did not get an interception but Big Ben gave up three interceptions. One was converted into a field goal and the defense pressure cause the 52-yard field goal attempt to be missed at the end of the game. Steelers win by three points.
In the Seventh game with the Ravens, the defense on the first series of play picked off Jackson and took it to the house for a touchdown. Pittsburgh’s defense in the second half picked off Jackson again and converted it into a touchdown.
The game ended with a 28-24 Steeler victory, but what would have been the score if the Steeler defense would not have intercepted Jackson and the Ravens went on the score a touchdown? The Defense to the rescue again.
The game with the Cowboys was more of the same. The defense causing turnovers and the offense capitalizing on those turnovers to assist in the victories.
Now, game ten was not the case. But the defense held the Bengals to one touchdown, one field goal, a fumble, and 6 three and outs. Blowing the Bengals out 36-10.
After 11 great defensive showings by the Steeler defense, are they excused for one bad game? Damn right they are.
Written by Omari Jahi
Sources:
Washington Post: A perfect ending: Washington stuns Pittsburgh, ends Steelers’ bid for unbeaten season,
Nicki Jhabvala
Yahoo! Sports: Surprise! Washington ends Pittsburgh’s perfect season 23-17, WILL GRAVES
Pittsburgh Post Gazette: Steelers’ undefeated run ends at the hands of Washington, GERRY DULAC
The Morning Call: Steelers’ unbeaten run ends with upset by Washington, WILL GRAVES
SBNATION: Post-Game Sound: Hear from Steelers coaches and players after the Week 13 loss to Washington, Jeff.Hartman
ESPN: Scoreboard
Featured and Top Images by Tony Webster Courtesy of Wikimedia – Creative Commons License
First Inset Image by Brook Ward Courtesy of Wikimedia – Creative Commons License
Second Inset Image by SAB0TEUR Courtesy of Wikimedia – Creative Commons License
Third Inset Image by Keith Allison Courtesy of Wikimedia – Creative Commons License
Fourth Inset Image by Chipermc Courtesy of Wikimedia – Creative Commons License
