A bad spot on Washington’s 4th down play and a dead ball penalty against the defense lead to a rare late-game failure for the ‘24 Commanders
Heading into this game, the Commanders held a half-game lead on the Eagles in the NFC East division.
The Eagles played the Cowboys, who were without starting quarterback Dak Prescott, later in the day, so getting a win against the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers was vitally important for Washington to hold onto its slender lead in the division.
The Steelers had a 6-2 record and led the AFC North division. While Pittsburgh ranked just 13th in the NFL in points per game on the season, they had recently changed the starting quarterback. With Russell Wilson now playing, the Steelers ranked 4th in points per game (31.7) over the prior three games, while the Commanders ranked 6th at 28.3.
Things went a bit the other way defensively, as Pittsburgh’s defense ranked 2nd in the league for the season. Over the prior three games, however, Washington ranked 3rd in points per game given up (14.7) while the Steelers ranked 4th at 15.3.
This game looked to be a great matchup between two good teams, each of which had worked hard to improve upon early-season weaknesses.
The Washington roster, however, was showing the effects of a long season:
The Commanders would play again on Thursday night against the Eagles, and they had games against the Cowboys and Titans before a Week 14 bye. This stretch was the most challenging of the ‘24 season, with Washington losing three straight games, beginning with this...