Steelers vs. Washington score, results: Washington spoils Pittsburgh's unbeaten season

Jacob Hancock

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Steelers vs. Washington score, results: Washington spoils Pittsburgh's unbeaten season image

Don't look now, but the Washington Football Team is hot.

Washington earned its third win in a row Monday, knocking off the previously unbeaten Steelers 23-17 thanks to a stellar defensive effort. It held Pittsburgh to just three points and 120 yards in the second half. Leading the way was linebacker Jon Bostic, who had a game-high 10 tackles and came up with an interception late in the fourth quarter to help seal the victory.

The game started dreadfully slowly for both offenses; they exchanged punts three times before Pittsburgh finally broke the deadlock in the second quarter with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Diontae Johnson.

Following the score, both teams committed turnovers on downs, with Washington getting stopped at its 31 and the Steelers getting stopped at the goal line. But one play after Pittsburgh forced a three-and-out, James Washington took the ball 50 yards to the house on a screen pass to give the Steelers a 14-0 lead with 3:54 remaining in the first half.

Washington was able to steal three points right before halftime thanks to a cheeky move by Alex Smith. It looked as if Washington, with no timeouts remaining, was going to run out of time after Smith took a sack on third down. But Smith smartly ran to the sideline with the ball, forcing officials to get a new ball. That led to them stopping the clock, and that in turn allowed Dustin Hopkins to hit a 49-yard field goal one second before the break.

Washington came out much sharper in the second half, marching down the field on the first possession and punching it in on a 1-yard run by Peyton Barber. That made it 14-10 with 8:16 remaining in the third quarter.

The Steelers hit a field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 17-10, but Washington answered a couple possessions later with a 15-yard TD pass from Smith to Logan Thomas to tie it 17-17 with 9:09 to play.

Pittsburgh had a chance to take the lead, but on fourth-and-1 from the Washington 28, it opted to go for it instead of relying on kicker Matthew Wright, who was making his NFL debut and had struggled during warmups. A Roethlisberger pass fell incomplete, opening the door for Washington. The turnover on downs led to a 45-yard go-ahead field goal from Hopkins with 2:04 remaining, thanks in large part to an impressive one-handed catch by Cam Sims on third down to keep the drive alive.

On the first play of the ensuing Pittsburgh possession, Roethlisberger was picked off by Bostic. Washington ran down the clock and tacked on another field goal to make it 23-17 with 17 seconds left, forcing Pittsburgh to go for the end zone. Roethlisberger completed a meaningless 22-yard pass to Eric Ebron, who was brought down in bounds to end the game.

Washington (5-7) keeps pace at the top of the NFC East with the Giants, who are coming off an upset win of their own over the Seahawks. The Steelers (11-1) still have a two-game cushion over the Browns in the AFC North, but now have some serious questions to answer going forward.

Sporting News tracked live scoring updates and highlights from Steelers vs. Washington on Monday night. Follow for complete results from the NFL Week 13 game.

MORE: Watch Steelers vs. Washington live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)

Steelers vs. Washington score

  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Steelers 0 14 0 3 17
Washington 0 3 7 13 23

Steelers vs. Washington live updates, highlights

(All times Eastern)

8:30 p.m. — FINAL: Washington 23, Steelers 17.

8:27 p.m. — FIELD GOAL, WASHINGTON.  Washington runs down the clock as much as it can and takes the 45-yard field goal from Hopkins to extend the lead to 23-17 with 17 seconds remaining. Pittsburgh now needs a touchdown to extend the game.

8:21 p.m. — INTERCEPTION.  First play of the Pittsburgh drive and Roethlisber is intercepted by Jon Bostic. Washington takes over at the Pittsburgh 25-yard line, 1:59 remaining.

8:18 p.m. — FIELD GOAL, WASHINGTON.  Smith can't complete the pass on third down, but Washington takes its first lead of the game with a 45-yard field goal by Hopkins. It's 20-17 with 2:04 left to play, Pittsburgh has two timeouts and the two-minute warning.

Cam Sims came up with a crucial one-handed grab on third down to put Washington into Pittsburgh territory.

8:11 p.m. — TURNOVER ON DOWNS.  Steelers opt to go for it on fourth and 1 from the Washington 28-yard line and Roethlisberger's pass falls incomplete. Washington takes over with 4:52 remaining.

8:00 p.m. — TOUCHDOWN, WASHINGTON.  Smith connects with Thomas for a 15-yard TD and Washington has tied the game at 17-17 with 9:09 remaining in the fourth quarter.

7:52 p.m. — Steelers punt.  Pittsburgh goes three and out, giving the ball back to Washington at its 47-yard line with 12:23 left in the fourth quarter.

7:47 p.m. — Washington punts.  Another three and out for Washington. Pittsburgh takes over at its 10-yard line, 13:16 remaining in regulation.

7:43 p.m. — FIELD GOAL, STEELERS.  Matthew Wright hits from 37 yards to extend Pittsburgh's lead to 17-10 with 14:57 left in the fourth quarter.

7:40 p.m. — END OF 3RD QUARTER: Steelers 14, Washington 10.  Pittsburgh has the ball, but it'll be four and 4 from the Washington 19-yard line to start the fourth quarter.

7:28 p.m. — Washington punts.  Close call on third down, looked like Smith might have fumbled but it's ruled an incomplete pass. Steelers get the ball back at their 7-yard line with 4:20 left to play in the third quarter.

7:21 p.m. — Steelers punt.  Not much going for Pittsburgh on its first drive of the second half. Washington gets the ball back at its 34-yard line with 5:47 left in the third quarter, suddenly with a chance to take the lead.

7:12 p.m. — TOUCHDOWN, WASHINGTON.  Peyton Barber punches it in from 1 yard out. Nice first drive by Washington to start the second half, cutting the deficit to 14-10 with 8:16 remaining in the third quarter.

Logan Thomas set up the score with this 30-yard grab.

6:45 p.m. — HALF: Steelers 14, Washington 3

6:44 p.m. — FIELD GOAL, WASHINGTON.  An administrative issue with the clock allows Washington to avoid running out of time, as Smith was sacked on third down. Dustin Hopkins hits from 49 yards to make it 14-3 with 1 second left in the half.

6:38 p.m. — Pittsburgh punts.  Washington gets the ball back at its 41-yard line with 50 seconds remaining, one timeout left.

6:31 p.m. — Washington punts.  Smith can't connect with Terry McLaurin on third down and Washington punts again. Pittsburgh takes over at its 10-yard line with 1:49 remaining in the half.

6:27 p.m. — Two-minute warning.  Washington has it, third and 7 at the PIttsburgh 46-yard line. 

6:24 p.m. — TOUCHDOWN, STEELERS.  First play of the drive, Roethlisberger hits James Washington on the hitch. Washington makes a man miss and takes it all 50 yards to the house. Pittsburgh leads 14-0 with 3:54 remaining in the first half.

6:19 p.m. — Washington punts.  Three and out for Washington backed up at its own goal line, Pittsburgh gets the ball back at the 50-yard line following a 17-yard return by Ray-Ray McCloud, 4:03 left in the second quarter.

6:15 p.m. — TURNOVER ON DOWNS.  Washington comes up with the goal line stand as Chase Young stuffs Benny Snell on fourth and goal from the 1. Washington takes over at its 1-yard line, 5:35 remaining in the first half.

6:08 p.m. — TURNOVER ON DOWNS.  After a failed Washington challenge results in fourth and 1, Washington opts to go for it and J.D. McKissic is brought down in the backfield on the jet sweep. Pittsburgh takes over at the Washington 31-yard line, 9:02 left to play in the first half.

5:56 p.m. — TOUCHDOWN, STEELERS.  Roethlisberger connects with Diontae Johnson for a 3-yard TD to break the deadlock. Pittsburgh leads 7-0 with 10:33 remaining in the second quarter.

5:47 p.m. — END OF 1ST QUARTER: Steelers 0, Washington 0.  Pittsburgh has it, first and 10 at Washington's 48-yard line to start the second quarter.

5:41 p.m. — Washington punts.  Steven Simms can't hang on to the easy first down and Washington goes three and out again. Pittsburgh takes over at its 28-yard line with 1:49 left in the first quarter.

5:35 p.m. — Steelers punt.  Pittsburgh finally moves the ball thanks to a 30-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger to James Washington, but has to punt it away in Washington territory. Washington takes over at its 9-yard line, 2:49 remaining in the first quarter.

5:29 p.m. — Washington punts.  Finally, we see a couple of first down thanks to a big run from Antonio Gibson and a roughing the punter penalty against Pittsburgh. But the Steelers' defense gets another stop to get the ball back at the 23-yard line with 5:27 to go in the first quarter.

5:20 p.m. — Steelers punt.  Another three and out. Ugly game to start, Washington gets the ball back at its 25-yard line with 9:45 remaining in the first quarter.

5:12 p.m. — Washington punts.  Three and out for Washington as well on its first possession. Steelers get the ball back at their 20-yard line, 11:51 left in the first quarter.

5:08 p.m. — Steelers punt.  Three and out for Pittsburgh on its opening drive as Eric Ebron is brought down short of the line to gain. Washington takes over at its 14-yard line, 13:25 left in the first quarter.

5:03 p.m. — Washington wins the toss.  They'll defer, so the Steelers will get the ball to start.

Steelers vs. Washington start time

  • Date: Monday, Dec. 7
  • Kickoff: 5 p.m. ET
  • TV channel (national): Fox
  • Live stream: Fox Sports app, fuboTV

​Steelers vs. Washington is scheduled to kick off at 5 p.m. ET as the first of two games on Monday. This game will lead into Bills at 49ers on ESPN's "Monday Night Football" beginning at 8:15 p.m. ET.

MORE: Why some NFL fans can't watch Steelers vs. Washington

Steelers vs. Washington coverage map

pittsburgh-wft-coverage-map-120620

The Steelers vs. Washington Week 13 game is only available in the red  regions of the map above. That's due to the game not being scheduled as a national broadcast for Sunday, so it's move to Monday didn't bring with it a national map. Instead, only the red regions above will receive the game.

If you're in a gray region, the game can be seen via DirecTV's Sunday Ticket only.

Jacob Hancock