Pittsburgh-Washington on Monday Night Football Might Not Make it to Your TV
Football fans hoping to see the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Football Team on Monday night may have some problems.
All eyes would typically be on this game. Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers are a perfect 11-0 and hoping to join the 1972 Miami Dolphins in football immortality.
Washington, meanwhile, has a chance to win the disastrous NFC East Division despite entering December with a 4-7 record.
Here’s the issue, though. A long-standing NFL broadcast rule means that those who aren’t in the game’s market will have serious problems legally being able to watch it.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Football Team have a pivotal game ahead
Usually, a matchup between an 11-0 team and one with a 4-7 record might not be too interesting.
But, there are plenty of reasons why Monday’s matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Football Team is so fascinating. Pittsburgh hasn’t lost a game yet this season, which always lends itself to conversations this time of year about if they can end the year 16-0.
No NFL team has ended a regular season at 16-0 since Tom Brady and the Patriots in 2007. David Tyree and the Giants made sure New England ended that season at 18-1 instead of 19-0.
Washington, meanwhile, has arguably the NFL’s best story in quarterback Alex Smith. The former No. 1 overall pick nearly had his leg amputated after a horrific injury in November 2018 but returned to the field this year and is now starting in Washington.
The game, originally scheduled for Sunday, is being played on Monday because the Steelers played last Wednesday. Pittsburgh had its Thanksgiving Day game against the Ravens pushed back six days after Baltimore had a COVID-19 outbreak.
Football fans may have a hard time finding the game
Whenever a player or team is chasing history, all eyes are on that game — and many resources are allocated towards it.
One would think that the NFL and Fox, who is producing and airing the game, would make sure that holds true on Monday. This is a game between an unbeaten team and one which, depending on how Sunday’s games play out, could enter Monday in sole possession of first place in the NFC East.
There is a major problem, however. Unlike the Ravens-Steelers game last week or the Cowboys-Ravens matchup, which will also air on Tuesday, this was never scheduled to be a nationally-televised game.
The NFL also never flexed this game to become a nationally-televised game on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.
In other words, fans out of market hoping to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Washington Football Team are in an unexpected jam.
Where can fans watch the Pittsburgh-Washington game?
If you don’t live in areas that normally get the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Football Team games, you will have trouble legally watching Monday’s game.
According to 506 Sports, only 71 markets — primarily in the Northeast and Midwest — had access to the game. Parts of Florida will also receive the game, according to a map that 506 Sports posted.
Football fans who don’t live in those regions and who don’t have DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket are in trouble. It doesn’t help that some areas already don’t get Fox because of a dispute between Tegna, a cable provider, and DirecTV.
Barring a last-minute intervention by the NFL, fans may have to turn to other methods, including streaming and simply following the game on Twitter, to see if the Pittsburgh Steelers continues their perfect season.
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