Steelers' perfect season ended by Washington

An undefeated season no longer is in the cards, and a playoff berth will have to wait another week for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Armed with a 14-point lead in the first half, the Steelers came unglued in the second, and any chance of matching the 1972 Dolphins was vanquished with a 23-17 loss to Washington at Heinz Field.

The loss dropped the Steelers to 11-1, but they continue to hold the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

The Steelers led 14-3 at halftime and held a 17-10 advantage in the fourth quarter before giving up the final three scoring drives to Washington, which improved to 5-7 with the win.

Coach Mike Tomlin tried to put a positive spin on the loss.

“I’m excited about facing adversity of losing with this group and smiling in the face of it and preparing for our next challenge,” he said.

The Steelers will face the AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills next Sunday night.

Washington quarterback Alex Smith threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end Logan Thomas to tie the score with 9 minutes, 9 seconds remaining, and Dustin Hopkins kicked a 45-yard field goal with 2:09 to play to put the Steelers behind for the first time in the game.

“This really does rank up there just because of the fact that who we beat,” Washington coach Ron Rivera said. “We beat them in Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Steelers. That’s one of the storied franchises in this league. So to come in and win, that was big for our guys.”

Ben Roethlisberger’s quest to lead another fourth-quarter comeback — he already has three this year — ended when his first pass on the ensuing drive was tipped and intercepted. Hopkins made another 45-yarder with 17 seconds left to establish the final score.

“It stinks,” Roethlisberger said. “It’s been awhile since we lost a game. It’s not a good feeling.”

Minus three defensive starters to begin the game, including outside linebacker Bud Dupree for the season, the Steelers lost inside linebacker Robert Spillane and cornerback Joe Haden to injuries in the second half. Spillane injured his knee, and Haden left with a concussion.

After stopping Washington on all eight third-down opportunities in the first half, the Steelers allowed four conversions in the second. Smith also completed three pass plays of 29 yards or longer in the final 31 minutes. Held to 114 yards in the first half, Washington accumulated 204 in the second.

“We’re not frustrated,” slot corner Mike Hilton said. “We know we have to play better.”

The same can be said for the offense. The Steelers were stopped twice on fourth down — the first at the goal line and the second in the fourth quarter when they bypassed a 46-yard field goal attempt with the score tied 17-17.

With the Steelers again unable to find a running game (21 yards on 14 attempts), Roethlisberger completed 33 of a season-high 53 pass attempts for 305 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Yet, for the second game in a row, the Steelers were held to fewer than 24 points after reaching that plateau in each of the first 10 games.

“Right now, we’re not great on offense,” Roethlisberger said. “We’re not bad. I’d say we were a little above average. (We’re) B or B-minus now. There’s plenty of room for improvement.”

For the second time this season, Roethlisberger started without taking part in an official practice. He didn’t use the lack of preparation as an excuse.

“I didn’t play well,” he said. “Regardless of how much I did practice or didn’t practice, I need to be better for this team.”

James Washington had a 50-yard touchdown catch, and Diontae Johnson scored on a 3-yard pass from Roethlisberger, but Steelers receivers again were plagued by drops. Tight end Eric Ebron had three as did Johnson.

Washington’s touchdown gave the Steelers a 14-0 lead with 3:54 left in the first half. It would be the Steelers’ last of the game.

“I feel like we kind of relaxed a little,” Washington said.

Hopkins kicked a field goal with one second left before halftime, and Washington opened the second half with a 14-play, 82-yard touchdown drive to pull within 14-10. Washington was backed up on its 14, facing a third-and-14 when a screen pass to Cam Sims gained 31 yards.

“That started the ball rolling in the wrong way, if you will,” Tomlin said.

The other big play was a 30-yard completion to Thomas that set up Peyton Barber’s 1-yard touchdown run

Matthew Wright, promoted from the practice squad to replace an injured Chris Boswell, kicked a 37-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 17-10.

After Washington tied the score, the Steelers had a chance to go ahead with 4:57 to play. Facing a fourth-and-1 from the Washington 28, Roethlisberger remained on the field while Jerald Hawkins entered as an extra blocker. The Steelers didn’t run, though, and Roethlisberger’s pass to Anthony McFarland on a wheel route fell incomplete.

That led to Hopkins’ go-ahead field goal that sent the Steelers to a loss for the first time this year.

“We’re getting to the point of the season when you’ve got to be sharp in all areas, your whole team, both sides of the ball, all that stuff,” Roethlisberger said. “There can be all kinds of distractions, changes of this, that and the other. At the end of the day, we’ve got to go play good football.”