BenRoethlisberger

Steelers Depot·Sep 16

The Pittsburgh Steelers came out with a Week 1 win, beating the Atlanta Falcons 20-13.

Their offense still sputtered, though, despite major upgrades this offseason. However, one player who answered the call when asked to was Darnell Washington. “We’ve also gotta get Darnell in the game,” Santonio Holmes said Tuesday on the Footbahlin’ with Ben Roethlisberger podcast. “Those little quick passes out, those little dump-offs… Give him a couple plays to make some noise and have fun playing the game.” Washington played 44 of a possible 68 snaps against the Falcons. It wasn’t like he took a backseat to Pat Freiermuth, who played 49 snaps. Still, Washington didn’t have much of a presence in that game. He was targeted only twice and caught both passes, finishing with 18 yards. Of the Steelers who recorded at least one catch, Washington had the fewest targets. However, he made the most of his opportunities. Washington’s second catch came on the Steelers’ final drive. They faced a critical 3rd-and-3 at their own 29-yard line with just over two minutes left. The Steelers needed that first down, and they called upon Washington.

Mike DeFabo·Aug 14

Rudolph may be the known commodity, but he gave the Steelers few reasons to rethink the current rotation. He went 10 of 11 on two series. The only incompletion came in the red zone: Rudolph did his best Ben Roethlisberger impression to avoid the rush, and then connected with Germie Bernard; the rookie caught the pass but was unable to get his second foot down in the back of the end zone. The drive stalled on the 1-yard line, but Rudolph converted a trio of chain-moving, third-down passes on the series.