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All Burgundy, Like a Bruise
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"They showed up to play, and that's why they're the number one defense," said versatile defensive end Demetric Evans, who was credited with two of Washington's season-high four sacks. "They do a great job on the run, their blitzes are hard to pick up, and they create a whole lot of pressure. Yeah, we made plays, but they made a lot more plays than we did."
On offense, too. Backup quarterback Byron Leftwich, who relieved injured starter Ben Roethlisberger to start the second half, directed the offense well, completing 7 of 10 passes for 129 yards and one touchdown.
"A lot of guys forgot about me," said Leftwich, a graduate of Washington's H.D. Woodson High School. "There's one thing I know: When I'm healthy, I can play in this league."
Late in the second quarter, Roethlisberger scored on a one-yard sneak to give the Steelers a four-point lead at halftime, but he injured his right shoulder on the play, the Steelers announced, and did not reenter. Leftwich impressed on the first possession of the second half, leading an eight-play, 72-yard drive Parker capped with a one-yard run.
Leftwich combined with wide receiver Nate Washington on the biggest play of the drive, a 50-yard completion down the left sideline on which cornerback Fred Smoot was badly beaten in coverage. Place kicker Jeff Reed missed the point-after attempt, so the Steelers had a 16-6 lead.
The Steelers cut the lead to 6-3 on Reed's 35-yard field goal with 8:09 left in the second quarter, and a late Redskins breakdown on special teams led to the only touchdown of the half. Standing at the Washington 26-yard line, punter Ryan Plackemeier was unable to elude the rush, as Andre Frazier broke through the line and blocked the punt. Lawrence Timmons joined Frazier in applying pressure on the punt.
"I don't know where he came from," Plackemeier said. "I saw the eight-man rush. You knew it was coming. Usually, you want to be a little quicker with that."
William Gay recovered the ball at the 17 and gained four yards, putting Pittsburgh at the Washington 13-yard line with 2:11 left in the half. Needing 12 yards on third down, Roethlisberger teamed with Hines Ward on a 14-yard play for a first down at the 1. Pittsburgh kept it simple on the next play, running a quarterback sneak on which Roethlisberger (6 feet 5, 241 pounds) scored easily.
"We're six and three, but you don't want to go into the bye with a taste like this in your mouth," Evans said. "We could have done more, and that's what we're going to think about now."
