The cost of a 16-game schedule is that deflation can be swift. Take an opening night double-digit loss at home on national television.
The sweet thoughts out in the parking lots when hot dogs sizzled and music played just hours earlier, can devolve into concerns about an out-of-rhythm offense and defense that failed so often when a stop was crucial.
That’s the case for the Washington Redskins following their 38-16 opening-night loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, one that was clear enough with more than four minutes to go in the game that Redskins fans filled the steps heading out of FedEx Field.
A few minutes later, a “Here we go, Steelers, here we go!” chant accompanied rotating yellow towels in the stands.
“They took us behind the woodshed today and wore our tail out,” Redskins cornerback Josh Norman said. “Gave us a good old-fashioned butt whooping. That’s what it was. Can’t take anything away from that.”
Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins finished 30-for-43 for 329 passing yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions.
Yet, that line did not indicate the stop-go-stop feel that the offense presented during the evening. That was more illustrated by Washington’s inability to run the ball. It gained just 55 yards on the ground.
The poised, polished Steelers, on the other hand, were 9-for-14 on third down, cashing in repeatedly by throwing the ball to four-time Pro-Bowl receiver Antonio Brown against Redskins cornerback Bashaud Breeland.
The evening was sliding away from Washington by the end of the third quarter. Brown had made another indefensible play in the end zone to push Pittsburgh in front, 24-9, by the start of the fourth quarter.
A jolt of a drive, taking just 2:15 seconds, to open the final quarter ended with a Chris Thompson 1-yard touchdown to help the Redskins lurch back into the game, down 24-16. Increasing the offensive tempo provided Washington a temporary boost.
Pittsburgh, as it did all night, offered a stout counter. A 13-play drive ended with running back DeAngelo Williams in the end zone, choosing to take a bow after his first touchdown of the season. His second celebration, following his tack-on touchdown with 1:54 to play, was more reserved.
The Redskins closed a clunking first half with capitulation. Down 14-6 because of two Ben Roethlisberger touchdown passes, they handed the ball to Thompson, then jogged into the lockerroom as time ran out.
They likely discussed not going for it on fourth-and-1 from the Steelers’ 40-yard line in their opening possession, but attempting, and failing, to convert fourth-and-6 from Pittsburgh’s 38-yard line later in the half.
The Steelers did not have the same issues when taking risks to keep chugging. They were 5-for-5 in the first half on third- or fourth-and-1, putting together a late second-quarter drive that flipped the game.
Redskins linebacker Ryan Kerrigan reached in to knock the ball away from Roethlisberger at the Pittsburgh 25-yard line. Kerrigan looked left and right, desperate to find the ball. When he did, he picked it up and tried to move forward instead of falling directly on the ball. A hit from behind knocked it out of his hands. The Steelers recovered.
“The guy jumped AB so I came back to check out DeAngelo [Williams] and somebody knocked it out of my hand and the ball’s on the ground, and I’m just trying to tell [center Maurkice] Pouncey it’s under his legs,” Roethlisberger said. “But, you know, anytime you can get those balls back, it’s huge.”
The play wasn’t just a missed chance at envious field position. Pittsburgh worked its way down the field during a 14-play, 57-yard drive that ended with a ping-ponging touchdown reception by Steelers wide receiver Eli Rogers.
Roethlisberger’s pass hit three people, including Rogers, who was not the target, before Rogers grabbed the ball.
Pittsburgh’s first touchdown was more standard, with a dash of audacity. On fourth-and-2 from the Redskins’ 30-yard line, Pittsburgh chose to loft a pass to Brown, who tormented Washington throughout.
Backpedaling midway through the end zone, Brown pulled Roethlisberger’s perfect pass into his abdomen, just out of Breeland’s reach.
Anticipation during the week that Brown and the boisterous Norman would face each other Monday night was squelched by the Redskins cornerbacks sticking to their sides — Norman on the left, Breeland on the right.
The Redskins’ two field goals, one from 31 yards and a second from 40 by kicker Dustin Hopkins, provided a temporary 6-0 first-quarter lead for Washington.
By the end, crashing thoughts had taken over.
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