A week after they held Andy Dalton and the Bengals in check, the Steelers made super Redskins rookie Robert Griffin III learn the hard way what the NFL is all about.
The Steelers D held Griffin in check for the most part, and the Pittsburgh offense dominated the Redskins defense, as the Steelers won their second straight, 27-12 over Washington.
Ben Roethlisberger went 23-for-32 with three touchdown passes, one to backup tight end Leonard Pope, another to TE Heath Miller, and a third to FB Will Johnson.
Pope’s TD came on a 4th and 1 on the games first possession.
The Steelers run game was without their top two RB’s, as both Rashard Mendenhall and Issac Redmen sat with injuries. Jonathan Dwyer started for the Steelers, and again played well going over 100 yards for the second straight week.
Dwyer went for 107 yards on 17 carries, and while he didn’t score despite two carries inside the two, he did have a big impact on the Steelers being able to run the ball for the second straight week.
Griffin didn’t get much help from his pass catchers, as the Redskins were credited with 10 drops in the game, the most any team had been credited with in 2012.
On the day, the Skins QB went 16-for-34 with 177 yards. He threw for the Skins only TD, and was sacked once and not picked all day.
As far as his legs were concerned, the Steelers held him down for the most part, keeping him to 10 yards on 5 carries, with his longest carry on the day being 7 yards.
The Steelers built a 10-0 lead before the Skins got on the board with a Griffin to Santana Moss TD on 4th-and-2 with 11:33 to play in the first half.
Ziggy Hood blocked the extra point, giving the Steelers a 10-6 lead.
Roethlisberger and the Steelers came right back, with a drive that covered 74 yards in 10 plays, and ended with a TD pass from 7 yards out to Miller to make it 17-6.
Shaun Suisham kicked a 27-yard field goal late in the first half to make it 20-6 at the half.
Washington pulled to 20-9 on a field goal in the third, but the Steelers put the game away for the most part, ending another long drive with Roethlisberger hitting Johnson with a 1-yard TD pass with 5:13 to play third quarter.
The third Roethlisberger TD gave the Steelers a commanding 27-9 lead.
Kai Forbath kicked a 45-yard field goal for the Redskins three minutes into the fourth quarter, and drove into Steelers territory, but failed on a 4th-and-17 with 4:11 left at the Steelers 24.
The Steelers outgained the Skins 355 to 255, and held the ball for 33:13 to 26:47.
Next week Pittsburgh will be in NJ to take on the Giants at 4:25pm.
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DrGeorge
October 28, 2012 at 6:36 pm
Under Arians, I criticized Ben for not being disciplined and failing to play within the offense. Now it’s time to give credit where it’s due. Ben plays much more disciplined under Haley and he is now playing within the offense. The result is greater efficiency, resulting in more third down conversions, control of the clock, and time of possession. The offense must carry the defense this year, and it did today. Ben has wisely adjusted his game accordingly. The O-line is now able to protect Ben (fewer sacks) because he largely stays in the pocket. It was nice to get through a game without losing half the O-line.
Notwithstanding Dwyer’s 107 yards, the Steelers continue to miss Redman, their only true power back, in short yardage and in the red zone. But they got enough production from the rushing game today to keep the defense honest. The short passing game allows Ben to use his FB and TEs like running backs, which offsets the absence of Mendenhall.
On defense, we continue to struggle to cover short crossing routes, and we remain vulnerable to the run. However, the Redskins weren’t good enough to exploit either weakness before they fell behind and had to pass. Give LeBeau credit for adjusting from the power rush to the speed rush in order to get to RG3 faster. It worked. In the pass-happy NFL, speed has supplanted brawn on defense, and our D is gradually adapting to the new reality.
Finally, the special teams unit continues to disappoint since the firing of Al Everett, except for the kickers, who are among the best. Kickoff and punt coverage has suffered. That unit did not hurt us today, but it is a worrying trend.
The Tony
October 28, 2012 at 10:15 pm
The special teams cost the Steelers a touchdown
DrGeorge
October 29, 2012 at 9:59 am
You are speaking of Brown’s negated return, I presume, and you’re quite right in that. In fact, over the past few games, our returners have had several large returns negated by holding or blocking penalties.
George H
October 29, 2012 at 11:06 am
I think I saw it said 10 ST penalties so far this year. A stat that desperately needs to be corrected. Brown had a punt return td negated against oak that may had been the difference between a win and a loss
Mark
October 30, 2012 at 9:37 am
Guys, lets start by saying that Dwyer seems to be a Better power rusher than both Mendy AND Redman. Reps with the 1st team has turned him into a true #1 Back and his style is better suited for this team. On defense, the Steelers are still capable of controlling a game, but age and injuries have turned the defense into more of a cover/shell. Harrison has been slowed and seems to be more in passing lanes than backfields. Woodley has been slowed, and no one knows why? Our best pass rushers have been Foote and Worilds. Not going to cut it. Dropping LB into coverage to take away the short crossing routes can be successful, but doesnt that take the strength of Harrison and Woodley away? We have to like what we are seeing from Keenan Lewis and Ryan Clark. Ike seesm to have turned the corner but SS is still a weakness. Mundy is mediocre and Will Allen might as well be. It isnt fair to compare either to Polamalu, but MY GOD, how about causing some type of disruption? All either does is tackle after the 1st down has been made. VERY FRUSTRATING