Washington Redskins at Pittsburgh Steelers -- Week 8
Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh (grass, outdoors)
When: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (Fox)
Spread: Steelers by 4.5
Forecast: With a hurricane due off the East Coast, the gameday forecast calls for winds gusting 30 mph or more, temperatures hovering in the mid-40s and a 70 percent chance of rain.
Records: Redskins (3-4 overall, NFC East 0-1); Steelers (Overall: 3-3, AFC North 1-0)
Past results: Two most recent meetings -- Nov. 3, 2008: Steelers 23, Redskins 6; Nov. 28, 2004: Steelers 16, Redskins 7. Series record: Redskins hold a 43-32-4 advantage. (Washington capitalized on the early, football-follies years of the Steelers, but Pittsburgh has won four in a row -- the past three by a cumulative score of 63-13.)
What matters: Two letters and one Roman numeral matter most -- RGIII. Rookie QB Robert Griffin III continues to win fans and influence people to the point where it’s beginning to sound Jordanesque, but his record remains 3-4 after a 27-23 loss to the Super Bowl champion New York Giants last week. He has dissected better defenses than the Steelers', and the Steelers protected their first, fourth-quarter road lead of the season just last week after letting three others slip away -- and that was against inoffensive Cincinnati. It's far from a classic matchup: a Troy Polamalu-less defense that has trouble against both pinpoint passes and fleet runners vs. the Redskins, who possess those offensive qualities in the form of Griffin alone. The Steelers desperately need to start “stacking wins,” as Mike Tomlin likes to say. They haven’t won or lost more than one game in a row in calendar 2012.
Who matters: The Redskins do run, with Alfred Morris No. 2 in the NFL and RGIII No. 12. They run well; they've compiled 177 yards per game. So that puts the once-sturdy interior of the Steelers defense on the spot: NT Casey Hampton and ILBs Larry Foote plus Lawrence Timmons. They’re already allowing an un-Steelers-like 4.1 yards per rush. Meantime, the Steelers’ offense must find ways to keep pace with the Redskins' scoring, and it could be difficult sledding in wind and rain for a Steelers team that didn’t run the ball even passably until this past week. And don’t forget those Steelers special teams that erased 85 yards of their own returns last week with five penalty flags.
Key matchups: The Redskins’ running game vs. the Steelers’ relatively soft and aging middle was mentioned above. But there are other questions. CB Ike Taylor, after a strong game against Cincinnati’s A.J. Green that followed a five-game spurt of completions allowed and pass-interference penalties compiled, will likely draw either Pierre Garcon -- if Garcon plays on a plantar injury -- or Santana Moss. Will Hall of Fame defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau call for a spy to shadow RGIII? (What, a defensive back? No other defender could keep pace with him, and they have enough trouble with run-of-the-mill receivers). Will LeBeau be able to design and get his defense to properly execute (a problem already this fall) disguises to confound yet another rookie quarterback? He’s 14-1 with the Steelers against rookie QBs. And who will RGIII target most often now that his leading receiver, TE Fred Davis , went on injured reserve? The other matchups remain simple: Ben Roethlisberger vs. the scoreboard (must score TDs vs. RGIII), and the special teams vs. the officials.
Injuries of note: Polamalu (calf) is still the most worrisome, what with the Steelers 12-12 in his absence. Yet they're thin again at RB, with Rashard Mendenhall (Achilles) listed as out in Friday's injury report and backup Isaac Redman (ankle) questionable after limited late-week work. Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey (ankle) returned to practice Wednesday and should start, and he is their best offensive lineman. But starting right OT Marcus Gilbert (foot) will miss a second Sunday, if not more. Rookie Mike Adams fared well in Cincinnati last weekend, but it remains to be seen if he can produce consistently.
Inside stuff: Jonathan Dwyer had a critical fumble that helped to turn a lead into a loss at Oakland, whereupon Tomlin wrote his name on the team-room board afterward and immediately rendered him inactive -- if not notorious. Dwyer’s response: a career-high 122 yards last week in Cincinnati sans Mendenhall and Redman, and he carried the load in Jerome Bettis fashion when the Steelers needed to kill the clock and close out the fourth quarter. Can a third-year, third-stringer produce like that again? Better yet, can the offensive line? . . . James Harrison’s surgically repaired knee and LaMarr Woodley’s chronically sore hamstring will be tested to the hilt by RGIII. ... Oh, and the Steelers will dress in their 1934 throwback uniforms for this game, the attire most associated with either black-and-gold prison wear or the “Saturday Night Live” 1970s spoof called Bad News Bees.
Connections: K Shaun Suisham is remembered far from fondly in Washington for missing a 23-yarder against the then-undefeated Saints, leaving town and soon after missing two playoff field-goal attempts for Dallas. S Ryan Clark was a notable Redskins starter in 2004-05 before signing with the Steelers. Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett was the Steelers’ DC in 1997-98 while LeBeau returned to Cincinnati, and fellow Washington assistants Bob Slowik and Danny Smith are native Pittsburghers the same as Haslett.
Stats you should know: The three drops that WR Mike Wallace experienced last week at Cincinnati, not counting the tipped end-zone pass that struck him in the midsection. Worse, in Wallace’s case, just might be his lack of big plays -- remove his 82-yarder against Tennessee, and he’s averaging 11.3 yards per catch when his career average before this season stood at 18. . . The Steelers have won eight consecutive games against NFC foes and own a 27-6 record since 2003 vs. the NFC East.
Record watch: Heath Miller needs one more touchdown to equal Elbie Nickel’s 37, highest for a Steelers tight end, and 11 yards to equal WR Plaxico Burress for seventh place in Steelers reception yardage with 4,164. Dwyer, with 100, yards would become the first Steelers RB since Willie Parker in Sept. 2008 to amass back-to-back 100-yard games -- a 68-game drought for a team that received such performances with regularity under Bettis and Parker for a decade-plus.
Looking ahead: The Steelers stay in the NFC East portion of their schedule and travel to face the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants in a week. Washington returns home for a matchup of young QBs, Carolina’s Cam Newton vs. RGIII.
Prediction: Redskins 34, Steelers 33
Follow Steelers reporter Chuck Finder on Twitter @CBSSteelers and @cfinder.