The Pittsburgh Steelers got the best of the Washington Commanders in Week 10, and did so in more ways than one.

Not only did Pittsburgh eke out a 1-point road victory over one of the best teams in the NFC, the team did so by winning the so-called game of inches. First, the Steelers defense stuffed the Commanders offense on a 4th-down play that stopped a Washington drive just short of field-goal range late in the game.

Then, on a 4th-and-1 call from the Commanders’ 49-yard line, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and quarterback Russell Wilson teamed up in an effort to pull the Washington defense offsides rather than simply punt the football away with just over 1 minute left on the clock.

Wilson’s hard count baited Commanders rookie defensive lineman Jer’Zhan Newton, the No. 36 overall pick in the second round of the most recent NFL draft, into jumping offsides. The penalty resulted in a first down for Pittsburgh, which took a knee and ended the contest.

A reporter asked Tomlin, who was more jovial at the podium than usual, if the Steelers would have gone for it on 4th down had Washington not jumped offsides.

“We’ll never know, will we?” Tomlin said with a laugh.

However, the coach implied in his very next comment that he might have decided to push the envelope if faced with that decision.

“You know I’m a degenerate,” Tomlin said.

Pittsburgh’s victory coming out of its bye week was the eighth straight win for Tomlin teams after a weekend off, stretching all the way back to the 2017 campaign.

The Steelers are now 7-2 on the season and remain atop the AFC North Division, holding a half-game lead over the Baltimore Ravens, who Pittsburgh will host next Sunday.