There are no more undefeated teams in NFL this season. The Pittsburgh Steelers, who had a perfect 11-0 start in 2020, saw their unbeaten run come to an end on Monday with a shocking 17-23 loss to the Washington Football Team.
Considering Washington’s good run in recent weeks, many NFL analysts predicted that the Steelers would encounter some problems in this game. But it didn’t look that way early on.
After each team failed to put points on the board in the first quarter, Pittsburgh took command in the second. The Steelers marched down the field 72 yards and capped off a passing-heavy drive with Ben Roethlisberger’s touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson.
Steelers had a shot to score more points shortly after, with Washington deciding to gamble on 4th & 1. However, Pittsburgh made a gamble of their own, passing the opportunity to kick a field goal and deciding to go for it on 4th and goal.
Washington’s defense stepped up, and rookie Chase Young made a last-second stop in order to get his team the ball back.
After Washington failed to find a way out of their own endzone, they punted the ball and gave the Steelers a good field position for another drive. As it turned out, Pittsburgh needed just one play to capitalize on it as James Washington broke a tackle and embarked on a 50-yard TD run to give the Steelers a 14-0 lead.
Washington, who scored a field goal in the dying seconds of the first half, entered the second period on a much better note. Their defense continued to be disruptive while the offense finally started clicking, and running back Peyton Barber produced a touchdown on their first drive in the third quarter.
Steelers responded with a field goal, but Washington went ahead and scored another TD to make it even. They then took the ball from Pittsburgh on downs and got the lead via Dustin Hopkins’ 45-yard FG.
At that point, Pittsburgh was ready to march down the field and turn things around as they’ve done many times before. But their drive ended up lasting just one play, as Roethlisberger’s throw was tipped by Montez Sweat and then intercepted by Jon Bostic.
Washington then kicked another field goal to make it 17-23, leaving almost no time for Steelers to try for a comeback.
With the win, Washington is now 5-7, and tied with the NY Giants for first place in the NFC East.
Steelers, on the other hand, are still comfortably ahead in AFC North.
