Unforgivable special teams mistake costs Steelers seven points against Commanders

Just as quickly as the Pittsburgh Steelers took the lead against the Commanders in Week 10, they gave it back with a crucial special teams error.

On their second offensive possession of the game, Russell Wilson led his team down the field and capped a seven-play, 70-yard drive with a great touchdown pass to George Pickens, who made a miraculous catch in the end zone.

Pittsburgh had all the momentum on their side early in the first quarter…until they suddenly gave it away.

After Pittsburgh again fended off Washington’s offense, it found itself with the ball in its own end zone. Instead of putting the ball away, the Steelers surprised everyone with a fake punt on 3rd-and-18.

The Steelers got exactly the look they wanted. With no shooter facing defender James Pierre, upback Miles Killebrew threw the ball to a wide-open Pierre for what should have been a first down.

Unfortunately, Pierre let the ball slip through his fingers.

The fake punt error immediately led to a touchdown for Washington, which needed just three plays and 15 yards to respond with a touchdown of its own.

Fans are always pushing Mike Tomlin, one of the league’s most conservative head coaches, to be more aggressive. This isn’t exactly what we had in mind. In theory, this piece should have worked. But I think that’s what you get when you throw to a backup cornerback and don’t practice those situations often.

Had the Steelers put the ball away in this situation, they likely could have prevented Washington from scoring (or at least limited them to a field goal). Instead, Pittsburgh’s costly special teams error cost them seven points and any momentum they had entering this game.

The Steelers were playing on the road against a daunting 7-2 opponent and can’t afford to make mistakes like that.