The quarterback Alex Smith threw for 296 yards and a touchdown and Washington surprised the unbeaten Pittsburgh Steelers until Monday by beating him 23-17, preventing him from securing a place in the playoffs of the American Football League (NFL).
Washington’s Dustin Hopkins kicked a 45-yard field goal with 2:07 left and, after Jon Bostic intercepted a deflected pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, added another 45-yard field goal with 17 seconds left. to seal the victory of the capital team.
Washington achieved its third consecutive victory to reach a balance of 5-7, to equal the New York Giants for the leadership of the East Division of the National Conference.
For its part, the Steelers, now down to 11-1, had been 78-1-1 at home leading by 14 or more points to now fall to Washington.
The only Super Bowl champion with an undefeated season remains the Miami Dolphins in 1972.
Pittsburgh fell to the level of reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City (11-1) in a fight for first place in the American Conference.
The Steelers opened the scoring at 4:27 in the second quarter with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to Diontae Johnson.
Washington denied the Steelers a defensive position at the goal line, but Pittsburgh forced a punt and on the next play Roethlisberger connected with James Washington on a 50-yard touchdown pass for a 14-0 lead.
It was then that Hopkins kicked a 49-yard field goal a second before halftime and Washington started the second half marching 82 yards on 14 plays in 6:44 minutes for a one-yard touchdown by Peyton Barber and getting closer to 14-10. .
Pittsburgh responded with Matthew Wright’s first field goal in the NFL on the first play of the fourth quarter. But Smith threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Logan Thomas to tie Washington 17-17 with 9:09 remaining.
Pittsburgh delivered the ball later at Washington’s 28-yard line, setting the stage for a Hopkins lead field goal that featured a one-handed catch from Cam Sims on a 29-yard pass from quarterback Smith and the capital team confirmed. thus victory.
In the other Monday night NFL matchup the Buffalo Bills (9-3) beat the San Francisco 49ers (5-7) 34-24. The game was held in Arizona after the Californian team left their home stadium in San Francisco due to covid-19 security measures.
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