Last Time The Steelers Opened On Monday Night Football They Wiped The Floor With Washington

It's been four years since the Steelers last opened their season on Monday Night Football. They did it in 2016 in Washington in the first game of the annual MNF doubleheader as well. 

The Steelers wound up putting it on them by a final of 38-16, but the first half was sloppy as sloppy can get. 

Honestly, I expect a lot of the same tonight at the Meadowlands. 

They got down 6-0 early. Washington was constantly driving. Steelers offense was stagnant as ever, Big Ben threw a pick, and they trailed until 10 minutes left in the second quarter. Eventually they got it going and drubbed Washington in the second half because the Steelers, for as flawed as they were in 2016, were just the better team. 

Shaky start for Ben. A couple big plays from Saquon or Engram. Don't be surprised at all if this is how tonight's game starts. 

It's wild how different this team looked four years ago. That defense, while they had playmakers like Ryan Shazier and Cam Heyward, was reeeeally, really rough. Thank God Colbert and co. took rebuilding and investing in this defense seriously because holy shit were we being held together by duct tape. 

The secondary consisted of household names like Rob Golden, Ross Cockrell, and Mike Mitchell. The day I never had to watch Mike Mitchell play football for the Steelers was a day too late because man that dude was a waste of space. The edge rushers were reliant on 38-year-old James Harrison. 

I mean it's a minor miracle they somehow won two games in the playoffs and somehow made it to the AFC championship game. No shit they were going to get their ass handed to them by New England when peak Tom Brady was going against that. 

Anyways, the Steelers defense is the Steelers defense again. 

Let's just hope tonight's inevitable early rust turns into what they did to Washington back in 2016.