Steelers at Redskins: Highlights, score and recap

The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Washington Redskins 38-16 in Monday Night Football for Week 1 of the 2016 NFL slate. Here’s the highlights and game recap.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins battled at FedExField in a Week 1 NFL game as part of a Monday Night Football doubleheader.

In the first half, both quarterbacks were moving the ball down the field well, but only the Steelers found the end zone twice. Washington could only get a pair of field goals to lead the game early. At halftime, Ben Roethlisberger had his team leading 14-6 and they never looked back.

Big Ben went right back to work in the second half. Pittsburgh added a field goal to boost their lead to 17-6 in the third. A short while after, the Steelers came up with a huge interception to pick off Kirk Cousins. Later, Roethlisberger hooked up with one of his favorite receivers, Antonio Brown, to make it a 24-6 Pittsburgh lead.

Washington seemed to be making things interesting. They trimmed it to a one-possession game in the fourth, but the Steelers were just too much. Antonio Brown and D’Angelo Williams had scores by air and ground. Each of them finished with two touchdowns for the winning side.

The win gives Roethlisberger and the Steelers a nice 1-0 start to their season. It puts the Redskins at 0-1 in the NFC East. They’ll go back to the drawing board after struggling in this home opener, despite a strong performance from Kirk Cousins. Of particular concern will be their game on the ground.

Highlights

After taking the lead on a field goal in the first quarter, the Redskins defense came up with a big play just a bit later. Bashaud Breeland tipped a Big Ben pass to himself for the interception and took it several yards down the field.

Washington added another field goal to make it a 6-0 lead in the first. The Steelers caught a break as Roethlisberger had the ball stripped. Luckily, one of his teammates helped with the fumble recovery as the Redskins would have had the ball in scoring territory.

Big Ben didn’t just make mistakes, though. Check out this amazing pass he made thanks to his star receiver Antonio Brown in the second quarter.

Brown made a huge touchdown catch several plays later despite double coverage. That gave Pittsburgh the 7-6 lead in the first.

Roethlisberger continued his solid play. It always helps when he has talented receivers to throw to. In this situation, it was Eli Rogers managing to come up with the tipped ball in the endzone.

Another quarter, another Big Ben touchdown. In the third, it was Antonio Brown with the score to make it 24-6 Steelers. Brown decided to twerk a bit after his TD, leading to a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The Redskins came to life and started to make a game of it in the final quarter. This Chris Thompson 1-yard rushing touchdown helped make it just a one-possession game.

And just like that, D’Angelo Williams helped Pittsburgh to further extend their lead. It was 31-16 after this sweet 15-yard rushing touchdown.

Williams would go on to get his second touchdown of the night just after the two-minute warning. That made it a 38-16 game. Despite Washington getting the ball down the field and a penalty called on the Steelers for interference, they couldn’t find the end zone late.

When it was all said and done, the Steelers had come in and upset the Redskins at FedExField with a convincing 22-point win.

Three Stars

1. Ben Roethlisberger

Despite some mistakes in the early going, Roethlisberger was on point throughout this one. It was a solid 300-yard performance with three touchdowns thrown. Roethlisberger also had a fumble and interception in addition to being sacked. However, those stats pale in comparison to leading his team to the double-digit road victory.

2. Antonio Brown

He’s considered one of the top receivers in the game and one of the top fantasy football picks. It was clear why in tonight’s opener. Brown was the preferred target of Roethlisberger, achieving two touchdowns to help bolster the Steelers’ lead. He finished with 126 yards on eight catches, including a 29-yard reception at one point.

3. DeAngelo Williams

Just like Brown, Williams put in a key performance in Monday night’s game. He recorded 143 yards on the ground and two touchdowns of his own to help Pittsburgh solidify their lead late in the game. It certainly played a major factor in a one-two punch by the Steelers’ offense.

Odds

The Redskins came into this game favored by a field goal at many sports books. In this instance, the Steelers grabbed the upset victory as the underdog team.

Next: NFL Power Rankings: 30 Best QB of All-Time

Next Week

Washington hosts division rivals Dallas at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday. The Pittsburgh Steelers will be at home taking on the Cincinnati Bengals, also at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.