Game Recap – WFT at Steelers
December 7, 2020
By Noonefromtampa
Final Score: WFT 23, Steelers 17
Game Summary
First Quarter
The Washington Football Team won the toss and elected to defer. The WFT defense held the Steelers to a three and out on their first series while the Steelers held Washington’s offense to a 4 and out, with Washington coming up 1 yard short of making a second first down. WFT held Pittsburgh to a second three and out on their next series. Washington had an opportunity on the next series which was aided by a roughing the kicker penalty against the Steelers but fizzled out at the Pittsburgh 41 yard line and were forced to punt. Then, Steelers mounted their best drive so far, getting a 30 yard completion to James Washington but could manage just 6 yards after that and had to punt. Washington had a three and out with two drops by Isaiah Wright and Steven Sims on consecutive plays. On the subsequent punt the Ray-Ray McCloud muffed the catch, but Jeremy Sprinkle failed to recover the fumble after falling on it.
Score: WFT 0, Steelers 0
Second Quarter
In a drive that started in the first quarter, the Steelers had the first sustained drive of the day, going 77 yards in 14 plays to score on a three yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson. Ben Roethlisberger converted two key third downs on the drive: a 17 yard completion to Johnson on 3 and 12 and a 15 yard completion to Eric Ebron on 3 and 6. On the next series, Washington turned the ball over on downs after a challenge in which the officials upheld the call on the field that Logan Thomas did not reach the first down maker while going out of bounds on third down. On fourth down, WFT ran a trick play in which Logan Thomas faked the QB sneak and instead handed off to J.D. McKissic; however, Dontrelle Inman failed to block his man and McKissic was tackled for a loss. The Steelers then drove the ball down to inside the ten with a key pass of 30 yards to Chase Claypool. However, the Washington defense made a great goal stand, with Chase Young stopping Benny Snell Jr. on fourth down. The Steelers forced a 3 and out and WFT punted. After a return of 17 yards by McCloud, James Washington scored on a 50 yard pass play with missed tackles by Kendall Fuller and Deshazor Everett. Washington managed only 21 yards on its next possession before punting the ball back to Pittsburgh. WFT held the Steelers to a 3 and out, then was able to go into a two minute drive, moving the ball down to the Steelers 17 yard line. The key play on that drive was a 30 yard completion to Cam Sims. Alex Smith was sacked twice, both times losing 7 yards. Then can the strangest play of the half. Due to an “administrative” issue of getting the kicking ball onto the field, the clock was stopped at 8 seconds, giving Dustin Hopkins enough time to kick a 49 yard field goal before halftime.
Score: Steelers 14, WFT 3
Third Quarter
Washington started with the ball in the second half and put on its best offensive series of the game so far. A 14 play, 95 yard drive (thanks to several penalties to start the drive) that ended with a Peyton Barber 1 yard touchdown run to close the score to 14-10. There were two key big plays on the series: a 31 yard pass to Cam Sims on 3 and 14 and a 30 yard pass to Thomas to put the ball 1st and goal on the Steelers one yard line. The drive was aided by a defensive holding call on a failed 4th and goal attempt by Washington. The Steelers then had a strange 5 play drive that netted -2 yards and first down by penalty. After the Pittsburgh punt, WFT responded with a 3 and out, with a near strip sack of Smith on third down. The Steelers answered with a 10 play, 59 yard drive that featured a 16 yard completion to Johnson on 3 and 14, plus a 14 yard pass interference penalty by Fuller. The drive stalled at the Washington 19 yard line and Matthew Wright kicked his first NFL field goal of 37 yards at the start of the fourth quarter.
Score: Steelers 14, WFT 10
Fourth Quarter
Washington came back with a 3 and out, during which TJ Watt stripped McKissic of the ball but Thomas recovered on second down. The WFT defense was stout on the next series, holding the Steelers to a 3 and out with -2 yards. Washington then drove 53 yards in 8 plays, featuring several passes to McKissic totaling 30 yards. Next, Smith hit Thomas on nicely lead pass for a 15 yard touchdown reception. After a 32 yard return by McCloud, Pittsburgh responded with an all-passing 9 play, 34 yard drive down to the Washington 28 yard line. They elected to go for it on fourth down rather than trust their rookie placekicker. The pass attempt was incomplete and WFT took over on downs. Washington then drove 45 yards in 9 plays. The key play was a 29 yard completion to Cam Sims on third and four. The drive petered out on the Pittsburgh 27 yard and Hopkins kicked a 45 yard field to take the lead at 20-17. After the kickoff, Montez Sweat batted another Roethlisberger pass and it was intercept by Jonathan Bostic. Washington lost two yards on three plays, but Hopkins came on and kicked another 45 yard field goal. Out of time outs, the Steelers only managed get off 2 plays before the clock ran out.
Score: WFT 23, Steelers 17
The Numbers
Points off turnovers: Steelers 0, WFT 6
Turnover on downs forced by Washington: 2
Logan Thomas: 9 catches for 98 yards and 1 touchdown
Cam Sims: 5 catches for 92 yards
Key Injuries
Antonio Gibson (toe)
Temarrick Hemingway (wrist)
Brandon Scherff (leg) – returned to game
Kamren Curl (unknown) – returned to game
Heroes and Goats
Dustin Hopkins, 5 for 5 on kicks – Hero
Montez Sweat, 3 batted passes – Hero
Logan Thomas, key plays and a touchdown – Hero
Cam Sims – several key third down plays – Hero
No goats when you beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh…
Bonus
Three game winning streak!