Washington 23-17 Pittsburgh Steelers: Alex Smith leads comeback as Steelers suffer first loss of the season
Alex Smith was 31 of 46 passing for 296 yards and one touchdown on the night as Washington overturned a 14-point deficit to snap the Pittsburgh Steelers' unbeaten start to the season.
Tuesday 8 December 2020 09:39, UK
Dustin Hopkins hit a 45-yard field goal with 2:07 left and another 45-yarder with 17 seconds left as Washington beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 23-17 to end their perfect season.
Washington (5-7) won their third straight to tie the New York Giants atop the NFC East, while Pittsburgh (11-1) missed a chance to clinch a playoff spot.
Having trailed 14-0 at one point, Washington forged a 17-17 tie on Alex Smith's 15-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Logan Thomas with 9:09 left.
After Hopkins made it 20-17, Jon Bostic intercepted a pass by Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger that had been tipped by Montez Sweat to help seal the win.
- Washington stats: Alex Smith, 31/46, 296 yards, 1 TD
- Rushing leader: Peyton Barber, 14 carries, 23 yards, 1 TD
- Receiving leader: Logan Thomas, 9 catches, 98 yards, 1 TD
Smith was 31 of 46 for 296 yards and a touchdown on the night, while Peyton Barber rushed for a score after Washington lost lead running back Antonio Gibson to a toe injury in the first half.
Roethlisberger, who was surprisingly listed as questionable on Saturday because of a knee injury, was 33 of 53 for 305 yards and touchdown passes to Diontae Johnson and James Washington.
"I told 'em it was well-earned," said head coach Ron Rivera. "The biggest thing more so than anything else is, your reputation, your record, when you get on the field, those things don't matter. What matters is who plays the best and I thought our guys played pretty doggone good today.
"These guys deserve it. We've been down for such a long time and we're trying to rebuild ourselves and build up and this is something that we can build off of and, again, just really proud of the way they played," he said.
- Steelers stats: Ben Roethlisberger, 33/53, 305 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
- Rushing leader: Anthony McFarland Jr,, 4 carries, 15 yards
- Receiving leader: James Washington, 2 catches, 80 yards, 1 TD
Pittsburgh opened the second quarter with the game's first sustained drive, 72 yards in 14 plays, with Roethlisberger throwing three yards to Johnson at the left edge of the end zone for a 7-0 Steelers lead.
The Steelers got the ball on downs at the Washington 31 and moved to the one, only to be stuffed on four downs and give possession back to the visitors.
Washington themselves couldn't gain a first down as they were forced to punt, from which Roethlisberger threw to wide receiver Washington, who sidestepped Deshazor Everett's tackle attempt around the 42 and went down the left sideline for a 50-yard touchdown to make it 14-0.
Hopkins' 49-yard field goal with one second left in the first half pulled Washington to within 14-3.
In the third quarter, it was Pittsburgh's turn to try for a goalline stand, but Barber plowed in from one yard out to close it to 14-10.
A Steelers drive that bled into the fourth quarter ended when Matthew Wright, making his NFL debut in the absence of the injured Chris Boswell, kicked a 37-yard field goal for a 17-10 lead.
That would prove Pittsburgh's last points as Washington turned the game on its head with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Thomas, followed by two successive 45-yard field goals from Hopkins.
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