5 things we learned: Short-yardage failures on display for Steelers in loss to Washington

Five things we learned from Washington Football Team 23, Steelers 17:

1. Short stops

Be it issues with the play calls or the execution of what is sent in over the headset, the Steelers were beset by failures in short-yardage situations, and those mistakes correlated to the first defeat of the season.

In the first half, it was five cracks from the Washington 1 that produced zero points. In the second half, it was a failure to convert on third and fourth downs with 1 yard to gain and the score tied.

Each contained some curious play calls. On second-and-1 in the second quarter, Ben Roethlisberger looked for Benny Snell, who isn’t known for his pass-catching abilities, in the right flat. A penalty by Washington on the incompletion provided a new set of downs, which provided a chance for the offensive line to show it is serviceable in run blocking.

Two runs by Snell, however, gained nothing. On third down, the Steelers went with some trickery with tackle-eligible Jerald Hawkins being the intended target. The big lineman stumbled and fell as the ball sailed over him.

On fourth down, it was back to run, with Snell trying to scale the pile at the goal line only to be stopped short.

The Steelers didn’t even bother trying to run on the fourth-quarter drive that came up short. Roethlisberger passed on all nine plays, effectively moving the ball from the Pittsburgh 38 to the Washington 28. Facing a third-and-1, Roethlisberger looked for JuJu Smith-Schuster, but the pass was broken up.

On fourth down, the target was rookie Anthony McFarland on a wheel route. This time, the Steelers were in their heavy formation with Hawkins again reporting as an eligible receiver. If the Steelers hoped to catch Washington off guard, it didn’t work. McFarland got twisted around trying to find the ball, and Washington took over and embarked on a field-goal drive that put the Steelers behind for the first time in the game.

2. Iron Mike

In his third game back after a four-game absence because of a shoulder injury, slot corner Mike Hilton provided maybe his most complete effort of the season. After compiling three tackles total over his previous two games, Hilton had six against Washington, including two for a loss. He also had a pass breakup.

Hilton’s biggest contribution came in the second quarter when Washington faced a fourth-and-1 from its 34. On the previous play, a pass to tight end Logan Thomas gained 12 yards. Washington coach Ron Rivera challenged the spot, thinking Thomas had gotten the first down.

The call on the field was upheld, but Rivera didn’t send his punt team on the field. With quarterback Alex Smith in the shotgun, Thomas went in motion and got directly under center. A former college quarterback, Thomas took the snap and handed off to J.D. McKissic.

Hilton, though, read the play perfectly, darted through a hole and stopped McKissic for a 3-yard loss with an ankle tackle.

3. Playing long ball

It took a while, but Smith realized he could find holes in the Steelers coverage without starting cornerback Steve Nelson in the secondary.

A pass to Cam Sims in the final minute of the first half gained 30 yards and set up a 49-yard field goal with one second remaining. On the first drive of the second half, Sims turned a screen pass into a 31-yard gain on third-and-14, and a 30-yard pass to Thomas set up the touchdown that pulled Washington within 14-10.

In the fourth quarter, on the series in which corner Joe Haden left with concussion symptoms, Smith began working the right side with McKissic, finding the running back three times for 30 yards. The drive ended with Smith spotting Thomas alone down the left side for a 15-yard score.

Smith saved his last big play for Washington’s go-ahead field goal drive. On third-and-4 at the Washington 44, he hooked up with Sims on a 29-yard completion that got Dustin Hopkins in range to kick a 45-yarder.

The injuries in the secondary, plus the exit of inside linebacker Robert Spillane in the third quarter, were too much for the Steelers to overcome. Smith had 174 of his 296 passing yards and his lone touchdown in the second half when the Steelers were particularly short-handed.

4. Gone streaking

Two sacks streaks remained intact for the Steelers, not that there was much celebrating in matching the NFL record for consecutive games with at least one quarterback takedown or in Roethlisberger not being sacked for the fifth game in a row.

Spillane’s sack of Smith on Washington’s second series extended the Steelers’ run to 69 games in a row with a sack. T.J. Watt and Stephon Tuitt added to the total before the first half was complete.

That was the good news. The bad was that the Steelers didn’t bring down Smith once in the second half despite hitting him 10 times overall.

Roethlisberger, meanwhile, has attempted 252 passes in a row without being sacked. Still, a combination of drops, batted balls and overthrows resulted in Roethlisberger completing 62% of his passes, his second-lowest percentage of the season. He also threw an interception for the third game in a row.

5. No scoop for you

Watt’s sack late in the first half was his 12th of the year, giving him the league lead with four games remaining. He had a second tackle for loss, finished with four quarterback hits and forced a fumble in the fourth quarter.

The latter play was significant because after leading the NFL with eight forced fumbles last year, Watt had gone 11 games without one. Watt separated McKissic from the ball on a second down run from the Washington 36.

Watt had a chance to recover the fumble. Instead of diving on it, he tried to scoop it up and take off for the end zone. The ball had other ideas and remained on the ground, where Thomas pounced on it for Washington.

Washington ended up punting, and the Steelers turned the ball back over after a three-and-out. Had Watt recovered the ball, it would have set the Steelers up with a short field and a chance to build on a 17-10 lead they had just taken with Matthew Wright’s 37-yard field goal.