The Pittsburgh Steelers rallied to beat the Washington Commanders in D.C. 28-27. Here are my thoughts on the game. These are largely comments are write while watching.
Offense
-Curious decision to take the ball after winning the toss. Normally on the road you like getting the ball to open the second half due to most of the home crowd still not being back to their seats.
-What a catch by George Pickens (5 Rec 91 yards TD) for the TD. You can’t coach that type of athleticism.
-Perfect throw from Russell Wilson to Pat Freiermuth (3 Rec 17 yards TD) on the TD. Had to be front shoulder and it was.
-WAS was able to play a lot of cover two and float a man over Pickens. Other receivers have to get open. And the offense has to run the ball. Only way to get them out of that coverage.
-Beautiful TD for Najee Harris (21 Car 53 yards TD) who followed Mason McCormick into the end zone.
-Russell Wilson (14/28 195 yards 3TD/INT) really didn’t play that well and still had three TD passes. He was under quite a bit of pressure to be fair.
-Mike Williams (Rec 32 yards TD) was basically on the field only because of the injury to Calvin Austin III and it paid off. Pretty incredible.
-No one is happier the Steelers pulled out the win than Jaylen Warren. His fumble at the one could have proved costly but thankfully it didn’t. Warren (14 Car 66 yards) provided a huge spark at times.
Defense
-Big sack for Cam Heyward on the Commanders’ second drive. Alex Highsmith forced Jayden Daniels up into the pocket.
-Joey Porter, Jr definitely getting picked on by the officials. Second quarter especially. Flag in the end zone before the half was weak.
-T.J. Watt’s numbers are significantly better at home than they are on the road. He was largely a non-factor today.
-Minkah Fitzpatrick is way past due for a splash play. It’s to the point where it’s actually concerning.
-Injury to Alex Highsmith looked pretty awful. Hoping it isn’t as bad as it looked.
-Patrick Queen had one of his better games as a Steeler today. six tackles including two for loss. He was all over the field today.
-Cam Heyward had an average day but… He came up huge at key times with two sacks. Keannu Benton also may have made the play of the when he tackled Jayden Daniels for a short gain. He had a lot of open field ahead of him.
Special Teams
-James Pierre’s failure to catch the ball on the fake punt likely resulted in a 14-point swing.
-The fake punt was there. Miles Killabrew made the correct audible.
-Ho hum… Chris Boswell with a perfect four for four on his PATs today.
-Corliss Waitman continues to have a nice season. His ability to get the ball inside the 20 has vastly improved.
Officiating
-This crew came into the game calling more defensive pass interference calls than any other. They lived up to their billing. While there were some legitimate calls there were several there were not even worth a conversation let alone a flag.
-T.J. Watt was held BIG TIME on that play in the end zone. Horrible non-call and a complete lack of bravery by the officials.
-They also missed an egregious hold on Donte Jackson coming off the edge on a field goal attempt.
Up Next: The Steelers host the Ravens next Sunday at 1pm.
