The NFL was again generous in locating a Monday Night Football game in our nation’s capital on the eve of a monumental presidential election.

The Steelers however, were determined not to lose the head position in their AFC North office, and soundly defeated the host Redskins 23-6. Even without the majority of the people’s votes, Pittsburgh’s campaign relied on an always ready defense to shut down Washington’s offense.

With the commissioner on hand and a nation of potential voters looking on, there was no question as to who was the unanimous victor from FedEx Field. If the old adage “defense wins championships” is true, then the Pittsburgh Steelers may be serious title contenders with their top-ranked unit.

So before you get to the polls today, be sure not to miss ….

The U’s Primetime Players:

Quarterbacks:

Byron Leftwich/Ben Roethlisberger
Big Ben was absolutely awful in the first half as Pittsburgh’s leader. He did sneak in the endzone for a rushing touchdown at the end of quarter number two, but was dreadful passing the ball. His 5-for-17 completions for a mere 50 yards may have been due to a banged up throwing hand. Enter Leftwich, who carried the team to 13 second-half points with 7-for-10 passing, 129 yards and a touchdown. Is a QB controversy brewing in Pittsburgh? MNF Grade: A -

Jason Campbell
This was a mirror image on the season opener against the Giants for Campbell. He was confused, frustrated and battered around all night. The Redskins QB was sacked seven times in the game and hurried dozens times more, all while finding trouble developing rhythm to his offense. Campbell was just over 50 percent (24-43) and barely eclipsed 200 passing yards, and to top it all off, he threw his first two interceptions of the season. MNF Grade: C -

Running backs:

“Fast” Willie Parker
The return of Pittsburgh’s most explosive player took some pressure off Leftwich during the second half. Although Parker failed to turn in the big plays against the Redskins defense early, he returned to form with the offensive line to wear them down and gain tough yards late. He was under a 4.0 yard per carry average and his longest run was only 13 yards, but 21 carries for 70 yards and a one-yard TD run made Parker’s night in D.C. memorable. MNF Grade: A -

Clinton Portis
We see what happens when the league’s best running back meets the league’s best defense: one back against 11 guys looking to kill him. Portis seemed to be on his own without any help from a normally steady offensive line, and didn’t stand a chance against the Steelers. Taking away his 22-yard run in the first quarter, his 12 carries for 29 yards was flat out anemic. He did catch seven passes for 73 yards, often to bail out the constantly pressured Campbell. MNF Grade: B -

Wide receivers:

Steelers speed-less
Nate Washington, Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes are all regular, speedy targets for Pittsburgh. Yet how are these guys able to be effective when the starting quarterback is playing lousy? Even with a rejuvenated Byron Leftwich, the group failed to live up to collective expectations due to a challenging Washington defense. All together, they racked up eight receptions for 128 yards and a touchdown. MNF Grade: C+

The ‘Dead’Skins receivers
Chris Cooley and Clinton Portis were clearly the top two receiving targets in this game. How in the world does that bode well for the likes of Antwaan Randle El, Santana Moss, Devin Thomas, James Thrash and Malcolm Kelly? Their best wide receiver was Randle El, with a miniscule three catches and 22 yards. The stats only get worse for the other four names, including Moss, who surprisingly did nothing after single-handedly ripping up the Lions. Moss, Thomas and Thrash combined for six catches for 33 yards and no touchdowns. Talk about being shut down. MNF Grade: D

Tight Ends:

Chris Cooley
Call him tight end, H-back, or whatever you want in the Redskins offense. All we know is that Cooley can play some ball. The big man caught eight passes for 78 as Washington’s leader in catches and yards, and besides for Portis, was the only bright spot on a bad night for the Redskins offensively. The only problem has been scoring; despite over 500 yards receiving, Cooley has only one touchdown this season. Look for that to change as the season progresses. MNF Grade: B+

Heath Miller/Matt Spaeth
Virtually invisible for Pittsburgh. Literally. Zero catches, zero yards, and zero involvement whatsoever for Miller, normally the team’s best tight end. Spaeth was barely better with one catch for six yards. Once turned to frequently in Pittsburgh’s spread-it-around offense, Miller and Spaeth have since been forgotten during the team’s struggles to score points. MNF Grade: F +

Defense/Special Teams:

Pittsburgh
Now we know why they boast the best defense in the NFL. The Steelers took a 6-2 Washington team, spotted them six early points, and then basically blanked them the rest of the way. We mentioned above that the Redskins gained only 71 total yards in the first half, and finished with barely over 200 when the game ended. Aside from the two turnovers that led to seven points, the best statistic of the night was seven, as in the total number of sacks on QB Jason Campbell. MNF Grade: A +

Washington
The night started strong for Washington, but got a lot worse as the offense couldn’t support the defense at all. Although the Redskins defense battered around Roethlisberger and handed him one of his worst games as a pro, they had no answer for the stand-in Leftwich, who played surprisingly well. Washington picked up five sacks, but three were on Big Ben and this only reflected the fizzle of the defense in the second half. An early interception on the second drive gave the Redskins three of their six points; the second half, however, was a letdown for the group. MNF Grade: C +

Kickers:

Shaun Suisham
His night was short. Very short. Suisham hit two first quarter field goals (44, 43) only minutes apart for his only action of the night. In fact, Suisham stepped on the field only one time past the first quarter, and that was to kick off in the second half. MNF Grade: B +

Jeff Reed
How does one go about missing an extra point? Reed nailed a 35-yard field goal to cut Washington’s short-lived lead in the first half, and did manage to hit his other two extra point attempts. Stat of interest: Reed has missed more extra points (1) than field goals (0) this season. MNF Grade: C

Join us next Monday night from way out in the desert when the San Francisco 49ers (2-6) battle the first place Arizona Cardinals (5-3) in an NFC West clash.