2024 REWIND: Week 10 - Steelers get past Commanders in Landover by a score of 28-27

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:

• Starting RB Brian Robinson was out; 2nd year player Chris Rodriguez, who was elevated from the practice squad a week earlier and who had led the Commanders rushing attack against the Giants, had now been signed to the 53-man roster and was expected to play a strong role in this game.
• Kicker Austin Seibert, the NFL’s leading scorer, was also out because of a hip injury. The team had tried out a couple of kickers and signed Zane Gonzalez to the practice squad. Gonzalez was elevated for the game and handled the kicking duties.
• Although GM Adam Peters had traded for four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore earlier in the week, the veteran DB will was not active for this game against the Steelers as he was dealing with a lingering hamstring injury and still getting up to speed on the defense. We know now that it would be several more weeks before Lattimore was healthy enough to play, and he never looked completely himself playing with the Commanders at any point in the ‘24 season or playoffs.
• For the second week in a row, LT Cornelius Lucas was out with an ankle injury. Rookie Brandon Coleman, who performed well in his first NFL start a week ago, started again in this game at home against the Steelers. He would continue to start at left tackle for the balance of the 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...