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Pittsburgh’s top-ranked National Football League defence dominated Washington in a 23-6 victory tonight that served as a good omen for US presidential candidate Barack Obama’s White House bid.
The Shooter and the Gambler in the US election
The Steelers shut down NFL rushing leader Clinton Portis and sacked Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell seven times.
A third-quarter pickoff of a deflected Campbell pass snapped an NFL record streak of passes without an interception.
Pittsburgh improved to 6-2 while dropping the Redskins to 6-3 on the eve of the US election and thereby under the “Redskins Rule” of US politics delivered a signal that Obama rather than John McCain would win the American presidency.
For 17 consecutive US presidential ballots, the outcome of the Redskins’ last home game before Election Day has predicted, some even fancifully claim has actually decided, which candidate will receive the most votes.
If the Redskins win the game, the party with the most votes in the prior presidential election wins the subsequent election. Should the Redskins lose, the party holding the US presidency loses.
The Steelers victory was therefore good news for Democratic hopeful Barack Obama and a bad sign for John McCain’s hopes of replacing fellow Republican George W. Bush.
The rule has held true since 1937 when the Redskins moved from Boston to the US capital, although with a caveat in 2004.
A 2004 Green Bay win should have signalled a Bush loss, but Rule backers note that Bush lost the popular vote in a controversial 2000 election so his re-election in 2004 was not a true repeat, thus keeping the streak intact.
Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger scored on a 1-yard run with 32 seconds remaining in the second quarter to put the Steelers ahead for the first time at 10-6, but a right shoulder injury knocked him out of the game.
Willie Parker added a 1-yard touchdown run for Pittsburgh 4:38 into the third quarter to boost the Steeler lead, although a missed conversion kick left the lead at only 16-6.
Byron Leftwich, Roethlisberger’s replacement, connected with Santonio Holmes on a 5-yard touchdown pass 3:02 into the fourth quarter to boost Pittsburgh’s edge to the final margin.
The Steelers attempted to recover an onside kick on the opening kickoff but the Redskins grabbed the ball in Pittsburgh territory instead and Shaun Suisham kicked a 44-yard field goal to give Washington the lead.
An interception at the Pittsburgh 30-yard line on the next series set up a 43-yard Suisham field goal to put the Redskins ahead 6-0 just 3:58 into the game, although Reed answered with a 35-yard field goal for the Steelers.
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