This is the 11th in a 13-part weekly series examing the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers versus their 2020 opponents.
First game: Oct. 4, 1933 (Pittsburgh Pirates, 6 Boston Redskins, 21)
Head-to-head record: 42-33-3 (Washington)
Points scored: Pittsburgh, 1259 Washington, 1447
Longest winning streak: Washington (12)
Shutouts: (13) Washington shut out Pittsburgh 10 times; Pittsburgh shut out Washington three times.
When the Steelers first came on the pro football scene, they were known as the Pittsburgh Pirates. Washington had been in the league for one season and was first known as the Boston Braves before they became the Boston Redskins.
No matter the names, one thing was certain: Washington absolutely owned Pittsburgh. In the first 20 years of the series, the Steelers reigned victorious only four times. Only in the early 1960s did they start closing the gap, with a seven-game win streak; Washington, however, put further separation between them with a seven-game win streak starting in 1965.
The teams met twice annually until the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. When the Steelers moved into the AFC, their meetings pared down from every six years to every four.
Their last encounter kicked off the 2016 schedule on Sept. 12. Washington blanked Pittsburgh 9-0 in the first quarter, but from the second quarter on, it was (mostly) all Black & Gold at FedEx Field. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was 27-for-37 with 300 yards and three scores. Wide receiver Antonio Brown was responsible for nearly half those yards, with 126 and two touchdown receptions. Running back DeAngelo Williams notched 143 yards rushing and pitched in with two scores.
Washington may lead the head-to-head record, but the Steelers are undefeated in the Ben Roethlisberger era, up four games to nothing since 2004.
Pittsburgh hosts Washington Monday at 5 p.m. EST.
