Roethlisberger throws 3 TDs in opening win
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) passes the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., Monday.
Pittsburgh wide receiver Antonio Brown pulls in a touchdown pass in front of Washington cornerback Bashaud Breeland during the first half of Monday night’s game in Landover, Md.
Pittsburgh wide receiver Antonio Brown scores his second touchdown of the game as he beats Washington cornerback Bashaud Breeland during the second half of Monday night’s game in Landover, Md.
LANDOVER, Md. – It didn’t take long to call this election in Washington, D.C., in favor of the visitors.
Ben Roethlisberger overcame a slow start, throwing three touchdown passes – two to Antonio Brown – and DeAngelo Williams rushed for two scores as the Steelers opened the season with an impressive 38-16 victory over the Washington Redskins Monday night at FedEx Field.
Roethlisberger completed 27 of 37 passes for 300 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, and the 33-year-old Williams had 26 carries for 143 yards and a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns that put the game out of reach.
“The guys made the necessary plays,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “We hung in there early. The defense did a nice job of making them settle for threes until we could get our feet under us offensively. We we went on from there.”
Both teams were forced to punt on their opening possessions but Washington grabbed a 3-0 lead on its second possession despite stalling inside the Pittsburgh 20-yard line.
DeSean Jackson gained 31 yards on a crossing route to eat up most of the yardage on the 54-yard drive that ended in a 31-yard Dustin Hopkins field goal.
On the Steelers’ ensuing possession, Pittsburgh was driving but a Roethlisberger pass skipped off the hands of Eli Rogers – who had a 20-yard-gain on third-and-1 – and into the hands of cornerback Bashaud Breeland, who returned it 26 yards to the Pittsburgh 37.
Pittsburgh’s defense held up from there, allowing just one first down to force a 40-yard field goal by Hopkins and a 6-0 Washington lead late in the first quarter.
Roethlisberger shook off his slow start to take over the game. And it was a near turnover that seemed to wake him up.
Roethlisberger was stripped of the ball inside his own 20 by defensive end Ryan Kerrigan. But Kerrigan attempted to pick the ball up and run with it and was stripped from behind by center Maurkice Pouncey with the Steelers recovering.
“Midget leagues,” said Pouncey when asked when his last forced fumble came. “But there was no way I was going to let him score on us down there. That was a huge momentum swing.”
Later in the drive, Brown caught a pass at the Washington 25 but was immediately stripped of the ball with the Redskins recovering. The officials ruled Brown had not made a football move after the catch and it was an incompletion. Washington challenged the call but lost.
That would prove critical as on fourth-and-1 from the 29, Roethlisberger quickly lined the Steelers up and went deep to Brown in the end zone, beating double coverage for a touchdown.
“We play to win,” Tomlin said.
The Steelers then stopped Washington on fourth-and-6 at the Pittsburgh 34.
That would prove to be a critical stop as the Steelers marched downfield, converting another fourth down along the way, grabbing a 14-6 lead when Roethlisberger’s pass into the end zone deflected off the hands of receiver Sammie Coates and Breeland directly to Eli Rogers for a touchdown.
“The ball was thrown and I just heard it bounce off somebody,” said Rogers, who had six catches for 59 yards. “I kind of followed it and saw it in the air and caught it.”
The Steelers added a 47-yard field goal by Chris Boswell on the opening possession of the second half for a 17-6 lead.
The Redskins appeared to have some luck of their own working on their next drive as linebacker Ryan Shazier forced a fumble on third down that bounced into the hands of Washington receiver Pierre Garcon, who carried it for a first down.
Shazier, however, intercepted Kirk Cousins, returning the ball deep into Washington territory. Safety Mike Mitchell was penalized for a block in the back, moving the ball back to the Pittsburgh 25.
That was no issue for Roethlisberger, who connected with Coates for a 46-yard gain down the sideline and then found Brown behind All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman for his second score, this one from 26 yards, to give the Steelers a commanding 24-6 lead midway through the third quarter.
The Redskins tacked on a 34-yard field goal by Hopkins with just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter to make it 24-9.
Washington forced a Pittsburgh punt and went 77 yards in seven plays to cut the Pittsburgh lead to 24-16 with 13:01 remaining in the game.
Williams, subbing for suspended Le’Veon Bell, put the game out of reach late in the game with a pair of touchdown runs late in the fourth quarter, scoring from 15 and six yards out.
Wide receiver Markus Wheaton, fullback Roosevelt Nix, center Cody Wallace, cornerback Senquez Golson, quarterback Zach Mettenberger, linebacker Steven Johnson and defensive end L.T. Walton were inactive for the Steelers. … With his two second-quarter touchdown passes, Roethlisberger moved past former Ringgold High School star Joe Montana (273 TD passes) for 13th on the NFL’s all-time list. … Shazier suffered a right knee injury early in the fourth quarter and did not return. … James Harrison also had an interception for the Steelers.