This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Landover, Md. • Ben Roethlisberger recovered his own fumble at a pivotal moment and didn't look back, throwing three touchdown passes to lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 38-16 victory over Washington on Monday night.

Roethlisberger completed 27 of 37 passes for 300 yards, including two touchdowns to All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown and another to Eli Rogers. Often playing on the opposite side from Josh Norman and tormenting cornerback Bashaud Breeland, Brown made eight catches for 126 yards.

Starting in place of the suspended Le'Veon Bell, DeAngelo Williams ran for 143 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries.

Washington led 6-0 and appeared to have another scoring opportunity late in the first quarter when linebacker Ryan Kerrigan sacked and stripped Roethlisberger deep in Pittsburgh territory. Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey knocked the ball out of Kerrigan's hands, and Roethlisberger dived on it at his own 13-yard line.

Roethlisberger then guided Pittsburgh 87 yards down the field, finishing the drive with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Brown on a gutsy fourth-and-1 call from the Washington 29. The next time he got the ball, Big Ben took the Steelers 67 yards on 14 plays to make it 14-6.

Pittsburgh's passing attack got clicking, but Kirk Cousins and Washington couldn't keep up. With Matt Jones and the running game grounded and tight end Jordan Reed taken out of the picture, Cousins finished 30 of 43 for 329 yards and two interceptions.

Washington got it as close as 24-16 on Chris Thompson's fourth-quarter touchdown. Then Roethlisberger was at it again, taking the Steelers 77 yards as Williams put the game away with a 15-yard touchdown run to break the 30-point mark .

PRIME TIME READY: Steelers coach Mike Tomlin improved to 11-2 on Monday night, including 6-2 on the road and 2-0 at Washington. Pittsburgh is 4-1 when opening the season on Monday night, and the Steelers' 44-24 record on MNF is third-best in the NFL behind Seattle (23-6) and San Francisco (47-25).

Washington has lost 15 of their past 16 Monday Night home games.

HOPPING HOPKINS: Washington kicker Dustin Hopkins made all three of his field-goal attempts, connecting from 31, 40 and 34 yards. Hopkins was Washington's entire offensive production until Thompson's touchdown.

PINBALL ROGERS: Rogers' first career touchdown catch in his NFL debut was a pinball special. Roethlisberger's pass from the 3-yard line hit receiver Sammie Coates and then Rogers' facemask before he finished the grab.

SHAZIER, PLAYMAKER: The play after forcing a fumble that Washington recovered, Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier picked off Cousins to set up Brown's 26-yard TD catch in the third quarter. Shazier left the game with a right knee injury.

RUNNING ON EMPTY: Jones was in the starting lineup after separating his left shoulder on Aug. 19, but he lost 4 yards on his first two carries and finished with 24 yards on seven carries. Washington totaled 55 yards rushing, including just 28 in the first half.

REED OPTION: Reed caught three passes for 39 yards on Washington's opening drive and was a nonfactor with four catches for 25 yards the rest of the way. Steelers 38, Washington 16

Pittsburgh 0 14 10 14 — 38

Washington 6 0 3 7 — 16

First Quarter

Was • FG Hopkins 31, 6:01.

Was • FG Hopkins 40, 1:13.

Second Quarter

Pit • Brown 29 pass from Roethlisberger (Boswell kick), 10:18.

Pit • Rogers 3 pass from Roethlisberger (Boswell kick), :31.

Third Quarter

Pit • FG Boswell 46, 11:23.

Pit • Brown 26 pass from Roethlisberger (Boswell kick), 7:08.

Was • FG Hopkins 34, 2:04.

Fourth Quarter

Was • Thompson 1 run (Hopkins kick), 13:05.

Pit • D.Williams 15 run (Boswell kick), 5:55.

Pit • D.Williams 6 run (Boswell kick), 2:00.

Attendance • 79,124.

Pit Was

First downs 23 18

Total Net Yards 435 384

Rushes-yards 30-147 12-55

Passing 288 329

Punt Returns 0-0 1-17

Kickoff Returns 1-18 1-29

Interceptions Ret. 2-0 1-26

Comp-Att-Int 27-37-1 30-43-2

Sacked-Yards Lost 1-12 0-0

Punts 2-53.5 1-27.0

Fumbles-Lost 2-0 1-0

Penalties-yards 4-81 9-55

Time of Possession 33:18 26:42

Individual Statistics

Rushing • Pittsburgh, D.Williams 26-143, Toussaint 3-6, Roethlisberger 1-(minus 2). Washington, M.Jones 7-24, Thompson 4-23, Cousins 1-8.

Passing • Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger 27-37-1-300. Washington, Cousins 30-43-2-329.

Receiving • Pittsburgh, Brown 8-126, Rogers 6-59, D.Williams 6-28, James 5-31, Coates 2-56. Washington, Reed 7-64, Jackson 6-102, Crowder 6-58, Garcon 6-51, Thompson 2-16, V.Davis 1-20, M.Jones 1-9, Doctson 1-9.

Missed Field Goals • None.