The Pittsburgh Steelers will visit the Washington Redskins at FedExField for a Monday Night Football in a 2016 NFL Week 1 matchup.
With football back for Week 1 of the 2016 NFL season, a Monday Night Football doubleheader will be on tap. Starting things off is a matchup between two NFL Wild Card teams from last year. The AFC’s Pittsburgh Steelers visit the NFC’s Washington Redskins in Landover, Maryland.
Both teams will be hungry for the first win of the season as they try to build upon last year’s success. They’ll each have their starting quarterbacks in place, a concern for several other teams heading into the regular season. Pittsburgh will have the services of longtime leader Ben Roethlisberger, while Washington continues to rely on Kirk Cousins.
In 2015, Pittsburgh ranked third in the league in total offense with 6,327 yards overall. Washington was amongst the teams at the bottom of the league in total yards allowed and average yards per game allowed. They also ranked near the lower half of the league in passing and rushing offense.
That said, Pittsburgh’s experience combined with Washington’s weaker defense could give Big Ben an opportunity to pick apart an NFC foe on Monday night. Of note, Pittsburgh will be without their running back Le’Veon Bell for this game due to his four-game suspension.
Game time for this Week 1 matchup is 7:10 p.m. Eastern Time at FedExField in Landover, Maryland. The game will be televised on ESPN and live streaming on the WatchESPN platform including its website and mobile apps.
While Pittsburgh is without their Bell on the ground, they will have Roethlisberger on the field along with one of the top receivers in the league, Antonio Brown. The team ranked near the top of the league in offensive output last season and will look to continue that trend this season.
Prediction: Steelers – 3