Cheat Sheet: Steelers vs. Commanders

SERIES HISTORY

Washington won the last meeting between these franchises, but the Steelers had won the previous six. Overall, Washington leads this series 43-33-3 going back to 1933. Washington had a 12-game winning streak between 1938 and 1945, as well as a seven-game winning streak between 1965 and 1969. But since the merger in 1970, the Steelers have won eight of the 12 meetings with no postseason meetings between these two clubs.

MATCHUP OVERVIEW

• The Steelers are 6-2, with one of their losses coming at home and one on the road. They've yet to play a divisional game, but Pittsburgh is 4-1 in the conference. The Steelers are on a three-game winning streak, as is Washington, who at 7-2 sit atop the NFC East after finishing last in the division in 2023. The Commanders are undefeated in their four home games this season. Washington has won seven of its last eight games. This is the first time Washington has started a season 7-2 or better since 1996.
• Washington has a plus-74-point differential. Pittsburgh sits at plus-68. That is third- and fourth-best in the league.
• Both of Pittsburgh's losses this season were by three points in Weeks 4 and 5. The Steelers minus-3 average point differential per loss is the lowest in the NFL.
• Dating back to 2021, Pittsburgh is 4-2 against opponents that are 5 or more games over .500. Only the Lions (5) have more such wins during that time.
• Jayden Daniels is the second first-round rookie quarterback to start and win seven of his team's first nine games. The other? Ben Roethlisberger.
• Mike Tomlin has the third-best winning percentage against rookie quarterbacks since 1950. Tomlin is 25-6 with a .806 winning percentage, behind only Don Shula (.846) and Hank Stram (.824). Since drafting TJ Watt in 2017, Pittsburgh is 10-2 vs. rookie quarterbacks.
• Russell Wilson has the best head-to-head record (11-2) against rookie quarterbacks since 2013 with a minimum of 10 starts. Second? Roethlisberger at 10-2.
• Mike Tomlin is 13-4 in games after the Steelers' bye and is currently on a seven-game winning streak in such scenarios.
• The Steelers have scored five more total touchdowns than their opponents, as well as producing 381 more rushing yards.
• Washington games average a total of 306.9 rushing yards, the highest in the league.
• Pittsburgh has an average time of possession of 31:42. In their away games, that shoots up to 32:43. The Commanders possess the ball for 31:12 per game, but 34:02 at home. Washington only possessed the ball for 28 minutes against the Giants. Washington's opponents run just 57.3 plays per game, third-best. Pittsburgh isn't far behind at 59.0, which is seventh-fewest.
• Pittsburgh has a turnover differential of plus-10, only behind the Lions and Bills. The Commanders are at plus-5. The Packers, Vikings and Lions are the only teams with more than Pittsburgh's 15 takeaways, and only the Vikings, Lions and Saints have more interceptions. Washington is best in the league, turning the ball over just three times and has only thrown two interceptions. The Steelers are one of two teams (Chargers) to have thrown just one interception. Washington has fumbled eight times but has lost just one and have just three interceptions this season. The Lions are the only other team to have lost just one fumble.
• The Commanders produce 60.6 more yards per game than they allow. Washington has thrown for 403 more yards than it has given up and averages 1.1 more yards per passing attempt. But the Commanders have allowed three more touchdowns through the air than they have produced. Washington has scored six more rushing touchdowns than it has allowed.
• The Steelers (47.3%) pass the ball at the league's 31^st lowest rate. Washington (48.1%) is 29^th. Pittsburgh's opponents are throwing the ball at a rate of 61.2%. Only the Vikings, Lions and Ravens are seeing a higher percentage of pass plays. Washington's defense is seeing pass plays at a 51.4% clip. Only five defenses see a lower percentage. The Commanders ran the football on 63% of their snaps last week.
• The Steelers have gotten a first down via an opponent's penalty 21 times compared to just seven allowed.
• Pittsburgh will face a divisional opponent or a team with a current winning record in all of its remaining nine games. Those three non-divisional games are currently a collective 21-4, including this game in Washington.
• Dating back to 1990, teams that start the season 6-3 go to the playoffs at a 73.1% clip and win their division 38.9%. Teams that start 7-2 are at 92.3% and 70.2%, respectively.

WHEN PITTSBURGH HAS THE BALL

• Pittsburgh averages 5.2 yards per play. But over their past three games, the Steelers average 5.9 yards per play. Washington gives up 5.7 yards per play. Only six defenses are worse.
• Washington allowed 29.3 points per game through its first three games, but just 16.8 in the last six. The Commanders have allowed 18 or fewer points in each of their four home games with 13.3 average points allowed.
• On a per drive basis, Pittsburgh's offense ranks third in field goals per drive (.27), fourth in turnovers per drive (.06). Washington's defense gives up 2.3 points per drive, 26^th in the league.
• The Steelers have scored on 45.8% of their drives, sixth-best.
• The Steelers offense uses 13 Personnel (14.3%) at the league's highest rate and 12 Personnel (21.7%) at the league's 11^th-highest rate. In turn, they are in 11 Personnel just 39.6% of their offensive snaps. That is the 27^th-highest rate. Washington's defense is being attacked with 13 Personnel at the NFL's 29^th highest rate (1.1%).
• Washington allows a set of downs to turn into a new set of downs or touchdown at a 75% rate. Only the Panthers, Jaguars and Bengals are worse. The Steelers offense is exactly league-average (70%).
• In terms of points allowed per quarter, the Steelers average 3.1 in the first, 5.1 in the second, 6.6 in the third and 8.5 in the fourth quarter of play.
• In their most recent game vs. the Giants, Pittsburgh produced 19 plays of 10-plus yards - its season high and tied for the sixth-most of any team this season. Washington gives up a play of 15-plus yards at a 12.3% clip. Only the Ravens are worse. But the Commanders are last in the league (3.5%) in allowing 15-plus-yard runs.
• Washington allows just 183.3 passing yards per game, fifth-best. But the Commanders' 143.0 rushing yards allowed per game is the fourth-most.
• The Commanders are allowing a league-low 147.2 yards per game since Week 4 after giving up 255.7 per game in their first three games, which was second worst. Washington gave up the most passing yards per game in 2023.
• With Russell Wilson as the starting quarterback, Pittsburgh averages 31.5 points per game and 417.5 yards. In the first six games, those numbers are 20.7 and 298.3.
• Of anyone with at least 50 pass attempts (41 qualifiers), Russell Wilson ranks second (271.0) in yards per game, first in yards per attempt (9.51), sixth in average depth of target (9.2) and 15^th quickest in average time to thrown (2.51 seconds). Wilson has just one fourth quarter incompletion since joining the Steelers and has a perfect 158.3 passer rating in the final 15 minutes of games.
• Of the 36 wide receivers and tight ends with a minimum of 50 targets, George Pickens ranks sixth in average depth of target (13.4), fourth in team air yards share (46%), fifth in team target share (26.1%), eighth in targets per route run (.28), second in yards per route run (2.66) behind Justin Jefferson, ninth in receiving yards per game (68.5), fifth in yards per reception (15.6). No receiver has more than Pickens' nine end zone targets. Along with Jayden Reed and DK Metcalf, Pickens is one of three receivers that have caught nine balls thrown at least 20 yards in the air.
• Pat Freiermuth has not had more than three targets in a game since Week 4 and only has one game this season with more than four receptions. However, he has caught 26 of his 31 targets.
• Jaylen Warren averages two receptions per game compared to 3.6 in 2023, and his target rate has dropped by 10% from a year ago.
• Pittsburgh has used play action on 31.4% of its dropbacks, the third-highest percentage in the league. When using play-action, Wilson is 15 of 22 for 275 yards.
• Pittsburgh's passers have been pressured on 37.6% of their dropbacks. Only eight offenses are worse. And their 8.8% of dropbacks resulting in sacks is also only better than seven teams. Only eight offenses are being blitzed at a higher rate (32.6%). Washington generates a sack on 8.4% of opposing dropbacks. Only five defenses are better.
• The Steelers are averaging 138.1 rushing yards per game, 8^th-best in the league. The Giants ran for 164 yards against Washington last week, 140 of those yards coming in the first half. The Commanders give up 5.1 yards per carry. Only the Giants are worse.
• Pittsburgh has 33 runs of 10-plus yards. Only eight teams have more. Washington has allowed 41 such runs. Only the Colts are worse.
• Pittsburgh's ball carriers generate 2.79 yards on average after first contact.
• The Commanders allow a league-high 5.23 yards per carry to the running back position, as well as a league-high 16.3% of running back runs to go for 10-plus yards.
• Washington allows 2.25 yards before first contact. Only the Saints and Lions are worse.
• Washington's opponents are running the ball between the tackles 55.0% of the time. Only the Ravens, 49ers and Steelers see a higher percentage of inside runs.
• Najee Harris is currently on a three-game streak with over 100 rushing yards. The 322 rushing yards he has accumulated over those three games makes up 54% of his rushing yards through eight games. He is now 12^th in rushing yards (74.0) per game. Since Week 6, only Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry are averaging more rushing yards per game.
• Of all running backs with at least 50 rushing attempts (47 qualifiers), Harris is 18^th in rushing first downs created (26), 13^th in explosive run rate (5.9%), ninth in missed tackles forced per attempt (.21), 17^th in yards after contact per attempt (2.71) and 16^th in percentage of yards that come after first contact (62.2%). Harris also has yet to fumble this season. In Week 8, Harris averaged 3.1 yards before first contact-the highest of his career.
• Pittsburgh's average starting field position starts at the 31.7-yard line, fifth best.
• The Commanders allowed a league-high 3.19 points per drive in September. But in October, they brought that number down to 1.51, eighth-best in the league. Last week, their only game played in November, that number shot back up to 3.14.
• Only the Cowboys, Jacksonville and Houston are worse in the red zone than Washington's defense at 69.2%.

WHEN WASHINGTON HAS THE BALL

• Pittsburgh averages 5.3 yards per play allowed. The Commanders averaged 6.0 yards per play last week and average 6.2 for the season, only behind Baltimore and San Francisco.
• Washington's 29.2 points per game is only behind the Lions and Ravens, and its yards per game (392.0) is only behind Baltimore and San Francisco. The Steelers average 310.3 yards allowed per game. That is ninth-best. Only the Chargers allow fewer points per game than Pittsburgh (14.9). Pittsburgh gives up 1.43 points per drive. That is also second to the Chargers. The Chargers are also the only defense to give up fewer touchdowns (12) than Pittsburgh.
• The last 10 rookie quarterbacks to face a top two scoring defense have lost. Rookie quarterbacks, including the playoffs, have a 3-23 record against top two scoring defenses dating back to 2017.
• The Commanders have scored on 60.7% of their drives, best in the league. The next best is Baltimore at 51.0%.
• On a per drive basis, Washington's offense is first in yards per drive (44.6), first in points per drive (3.19), fourth in touchdowns per drive (.33), first in field goals per drive (.31), best in punts per drive (.24) and best in turnovers per drive (.04). The Commanders produce a play resulting in 15-plus yards on 11.7% of their snaps, fifth best.
• Washington is fourth in its usage of 13 Personnel at 5.6%.
• The Steelers defense is being attacked out of 11 Personnel at the NFL's fifth-highest rate (68.9%).
• Washington's offense converts a set of downs into a new set of downs or a touchdown 80% of the time, best in the league. The Steelers defense is at 68%. Only six defenses are better.
• In terms of points allowed per quarter, the Steelers average 5.5 in the first, 3.8 in the second, 0.0 in the third and 5.6 in the fourth quarter.
• Pittsburgh is seeing 11 Personnel on 59.1% of its snaps, the fifth-highest percentage in the league.
• Daniels is on pace to throw for 3,673 yards and run for 867 in his rookie season. He hasn't turned the ball over in a month.
• Of anyone with at least 50 pass attempts (41 qualifiers), Daniels ranks third in completion percentage (71.5%) and fifth in yards per attempt (8.53).
• The Steelers have allowed eight touchdowns through the air. Only four defenses have allowed fewer. Pittsburgh is the only team that hasn't allowed a touchdown to a wide receiver on a throw 20 or more yards downfield.
• Daniels as a perfect 3 for 3 for 93 on passes of 20-plus yards last week.
• Of the 36 wide receivers and tight ends with a minimum of 50 targets, Terry McLaurin ranks second in average depth of target (15.4), fifth in team air yards share (45.5%), 12^th in team target share (23.2%),10^th in receiving yards per game (66.4), sixth in yards per route run (2.48), ninth in yards per reception (14.2) and fifth in first downs per rout run (.13). McLaurin has accounted for 54.5% of Washington's receiving touchdowns, the highest percentage in the league. No receiver has more than McLaurin's nine end zone targets.
• McLaurin only caught two passes for 19 yards in New York, but both were touchdown receptions. His 15.8% target share in that game was a season low. McLaurin now has at least 98 receiving yards or a touchdown in his last seven games. McLaurin's six touchdowns are the most since his rookie year (7).
• In Week 9, McLaurin played 46 snaps. Noah Brown played 31. Dyami Brown (26), Olamide Zaccheaus (24) and Luke McCaffrey (23) were right behind in snaps played.
• There were only 19 targets last week in Washington's offense and six went to Noah Brown. Brown's 31.6% target share was a season-high. Over the past two weeks, he has averaged 6.0 targets and 66.5 receiving yards.
• Zach Ertz has run a route on 60% of Daniels' dropbacks last week. No other Commanders tight end even reached 29%. Ertz is Washington's second-leading receiver at 33 receptions and 350 yards. No other Commanders tight end has more than three catches or 34 receiving yards.
• The Steelers allow 5.9 yards per target to opposing tight ends, fifth-best.
• Of all running backs with 25 or more targets, Austin Ekeler has the highest yards per reception at 13.2 and his yards after contact per reception (4.05) leads all running backs by a wide margin.
• On average, the ball comes out of the opposing quarterback's hand in 2.68 seconds against the Steelers. Only the Titans and Eagles face a shorter time to throw.
• Pittsburgh has blitzed on 20.7% of opposing dropbacks. Only four defenses blitz less. Washington is being blitzed at the NFL's second-highest rate (35.3%), only behind the Ravens. Daniels wasn't sacked last week against the Giants, who blitzed on 60% of Daniels' dropbacks.
• Washington is using play action on 30.9% of its dropbacks. That is the fifth-highest percentage in the league.
• The Commanders generate 163.9 rushing yards per game, behind only Baltimore and Philadelphia. Their yards per carry (5.0) ranks fifth. Pittsburgh gives up just 4.0 yards per carry. The only defenses better are Baltimore, Kansas City and Minnesota. The Steelers allow just 90.5 rushing yards per game, fourth best. Washington leads the NFL with 15 rushing touchdowns, but the Steelers have allowed only four rushing touchdowns behind only the Vikings and Chargers. The Commanders have the best rushing success rate (47.8%) in the league.
• Washington rushed for 149 yards last week without Brian Robinson available. Chris Rodriquez and Ekeler led the team with 11 carries apiece, and it was Rodriquez that led the team with 52 rushing yards. Ekeler played every snap on Washington's first two series and Rodriquez had just one first half snap.
• Of all running backs with at least 50 rushing attempts (47 qualifiers), Robinson ranks 13^th in explosive run rate (5.9%). Ekeler ranks fourth in yards per carry (5.6), fifth in explosive run rate (8.0%), second in yards before first contact per attempt (3.40). But only two running backs are worse than Ekeler at missed tackles forced per attempt (.08). Only one running back gets a lesser percentage of his yardage after first contact (39.7%) than Ekeler.
• Robinson has six rushing touchdowns despite missing two games. Only five running backs have more.
• Washington and Detroit are the only two teams with multiple running backs with 500-plus yards from scrimmage.
• The Steelers have allowed 3.99 yards per carry to the running back position, sixth best.
• Daniels leads the league in quarterback scrambles on designed pass plays with 40.
• The Commanders have 36 runs of 10-plus yards, sixth most. The Steelers have allowed 22 such runs, fifth best. Pittsburgh allows a rush of 15-plus yards on just 1.0% of attempts faced, fourth-best in the league.
• Only the Ravens average more rushing yards before first contact than Washington (2.31). The Commanders are also fifth in yards after first contact (2.71). Pittsburgh gives up just 2.7 yards after contact per carry. Just five defenses are better.
• Pittsburgh causes a three and out on 29% of its drives. Only the Dolphins and Seahawks are better. However, Washington's offense is the best in the league in this capacity.
• Washington's is converting 45.8% of its third down attempts, fourth-best in the league.
• The Commanders are a perfect 11 for 11 on fourth down attempts this season. Buffalo (9 for 9) is the only other offense that has yet to be stopped on fourth down.
• Washington's average starting field position starts at the 31.7-yard line, eighth best. The Steelers defense starts it average drive at the 26.8-yard line. Only the Saints and Lions defense start with better field position.
• The Steelers have the NFL's best red zone defense at 37.5%. Washington's offense ranks 26^th at 51.2%. The Commanders have run the most red zone plays (124) in the league.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Chris Boswell is on pace to set the NFL record for most field goals made in a season. He has yet to miss an extra point and has just one missed field goal, an attempt from 62 yards against the Chargers. Boswell is 23 of 24 for the season and is the only kicker in the league that is perfect from under 60 yards.
• Washington's Austin Seibert also is on pace to set the NFL record and has made more field goals than Boswell (25 to 23), but Seibert has two misses. He also only has three attempts of 50 or more yards.
• The Steelers average 3.0 field goal attempts per game. Only Washington is higher.
• Washington's opponents have only attempted 12 field goals compared to 29 by the Commanders.
• Pittsburgh has only returned seven kickoffs all year. Their opponents have returned 14. Washington has returned 12, but their opponents have returned 41, the highest in the league.

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT

Dec. 16, 2000: Steelers 24, Redskins 3, Three Rivers Stadium

While this might seem like an unassuming mid-December matchup between two teams with near .500 records, what is most memorable about the this visit to Pittsburgh was this was the last Steelers game ever in Three Rivers Stadium. Jerome Bettis rushed for over 100 yards, but it was his backfield mate, Richard Huntley, that scored both offensive touchdowns for Pittsburgh. Steelers out-rushing Washington 200 to 64 with Kordell Stewart as their starting quarterback and won the time of possession battle 35:07 to 24:53.

KEY MATCHUPS

Commanders WR Terry McLaurin vs. Steelers CB Joey Porter - Washington has a high-flying offense, but the top receiver is clearly McLaurin, who is currently getting some of the best quarterback play of his career. The Steelers are one of the heaviest Cover 3 teams in the league, but that doesn't mean they won't move Porter to McLaurin's side of the field, a common tactic for Pittsburgh against opposing No. 1 wideouts. McLaurin caught two touchdown passes last week.

Steelers QB Russell Wilson vs. 49ers LB Bobby Wagner - Wagner, one of the premier off-ball linebackers of this generation, is likely to end up in the Hall of Fame one day. Drafted by Seattle in the same class as Wilson, the 34-year-old Wagner is still playing at a very high level. His mind for the game is second to none and Wagner is the brains of Washington's defense. Needless to say, Wilson and Wagner know one another extremely well, which should lead to a very interesting chess match when Pittsburgh has the ball. It also should be noted that Dan Quinn was Seattle's defensive coordinator in Wilson's second and third seasons in the NFL.