Quick First Half Thoughts as the Steelers Lead the Redskins 14-6

The Steelers are off to a good start in their first 30 minutes of action of the 2016 season, leading the Washington Redskins 14-6 after two TD passes from Ben Roethlisberger. Here’s some first half tidbits from the 8-point lead for the black and gold.

* The defense got off to a shaky start, missing some tackles and allowing Redskins TE Jordan Reed to catch a number of passes early in the game. The good thing, the defense was bent but never broke, holding Washington to a pair of field goals.

* The offensive first half star probably not many people know is Eli Rogers, who had a crazy touchdown catch to make it 14-6 on a bouncing ball that ended up in his hands. Rogers though was on the short end of the Big Ben pick, a play in which he looked to stop his route. On the night he’s already got 6 catches for 59 yards, and is doing a great job helping out AB.

* Love the two fourth down pass calls, if the Steelers need that play later on, they should be able to use DeAngelo Williams to pound out a yard. It looks like Todd Haley and Ben Roethlisberger are on the same page, and the first 4th and short call resulted in a gutsy pass to AB in which he made the catch in double coverage.

* After a slow start the in which the Redskins controlled the time of possession as well as yards, the Steelers had that long drive in the second quarter to win the total yards 179-174, and time of possession 15:56 to 14:04. Look for a lot more running the football by the Steelers in the second half if they can build the lead.

* The speed on defense looks like it’s too much for the Redskins to handle – a good thing.