Steelers top Detroit in shootout, 37-27
Pittsburgh wide receiver Antonio Brown races towards the end zone to score his second touchdown during Sunday's game against Detroit at Heinz Field.
Steelers tight end Heath Miller (83) fights for a first down during the fourth quarter of Sunday's game against Detroit at Heinz Field.
Pittsburgh tight end Heath Miller looks for extra yards after pulling in a pass during the second quarter of Sunday's game against Detroit at Heinz Field.
Steelers Will Johnson pulls in a Ben Roethlisber pass for a touchdown during the fourth quarter of Sunday's game against Detroit at Heinz Field.
Associated Press
Antonio Brown (84) is congratulated by fellow teammate Jerricho Cotchery after scoring a touchdown against Detroit on Nov. 17 at Heinz Field.
Pittsburgh's Le'Veon Bell runs through the Lions' defense during Sunday's game at Heinz Field.
Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu (43) is in on a tackle as the Steelers' defense converge on a Detroit ball carrier during Sunday's game at Heinz Field.
Roberto M. Esquivel | Herald-Standard
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger congratulates receiver Jerricho Cotchery (89) on a touchdown reception late in the fourth quarter during Sunday’s game against Detroit at Heinz Field.
PITTSBURGH — It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Sunday’s 37-27 Steelers’ win over Detroit was a shootout, but it was quite surprising that the Steelers had the firepower on offense to hang and eventually beat the powerful Lions.
Pittsburgh started sharp and took a 14-point lead before Detroit fired back to assume a touchdown lead of their own, only to allow the Steelers to score the game’s last 17 points and secure the win.
It lifted the Steelers to 4-6, heading to (4-6) Cleveland next Sunday. Detroit fell to 6-4 and hosts Tampa Bay next Sunday.
Acquiring and holding fourth-quarter leads used to be the norm for the Steelers, but coach Mike Tomlin and his team were just happy to get it back, if only for one day.
“Boy, that’s a satisfying victory,” Tomlin said. “A good, tough week for us, not only in terms of the game, but from a preparation standpoint. I just liked the efforts of all parties involved.”
In order to secure this win, the Steelers had to overcome some of their own shortcomings, like settling for Shaun Suisham field goals on three occasions, two coming in the first half when the team could have applied a knockout punch.
“We did some things to shoot ourselves in the foot,” Tomlin said. “We got penalized a little bit there on offense and we didn’t convert some red zone opportunities. It minimized the things that we had going there in the first half.
“Defensively, at the end of the first half, we were just defeating ourselves. We weren’t where we needed to be, we were bleeding a little bit and they got some points on the board, but to the guys’ credit, we got in here and gathered at the half. Guys didn’t blink. We made the necessary adjustments. We came out and played a good 30 minutes of football and did what was necessary to get the victory.”
“That was a good team victory,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “Offense, defense. We were up, we were down. There was no quit in anybody.”
The Steelers drew first blood with a touchdown on their initial possession. Roethlisberger passed to Antonio Brown from 34 yards out to put the Steelers ahead, 7-0, with 6:20 to play in the fist quarter. The drive began with a 13-yard Le’Veon Bell run and included two catches by Heath Miller.
The defense forced a three-and-out from the Lions and the Steelers extended their lead to 14-0, thanks to a 47-yard Roethlisberger-to-Brown touchdown play with 3:58 remaining in the first. The touchdown play came one snap after Brown converted a third down with a 13-yard catch. Brown had four catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns to that point.
“That is a credit to him,” Roethlisberger said of Brown. “He is a great player and he just makes plays when it is there and when it is not there. He is a guy that you can find, that is just the special player that he is.”
The Lions finally got the ball to Johnson and got points on the board, even though they settled for a field goal that David Akers bounced off the left upright and through to make it 14-3 early in the second quarter.
The Steelers got a turnover when Reggie Bush fumbled and Lawrence Timmons recovered and returned it 29 yards to the Detroit 32-yard line. Will Allen caused the fumble. The Steelers settled for a 25-yard Shaun Suisham field goal and a 17-3 lead 10:31 before halftime.
Detroit came back with a 79-yard pass play from Stafford to Johnson to make it 17-10 at 10:13 of the second. Taylor appeared to be beaten badly on the play, then missed a tackle near the 30-yard line and Johnson ran it in.
Pittsburgh went back to the passing game, but again settled for a 34-yard Suisham field goal and a 20-10 lead with 7:19 left in the first half. Roethlisberger passed to Marcus Wheaton for 21 yards and Bell for 43 for all of the yards in the 7-play drive.
And back the Lions came, needing only five plays to move 74 yards. Johnson again got the score, catching a Stafford pass from 19 yards out to make it 20-17 3:52 before the break. Brandon Pettigrew caught a 31-yard pass and Kris Durham caught another for 25.
Taylor dropped an interception, then gave up a 23-yard catch to Johnson that moved Detroit into Steelers territory at the two-minute warning. Stafford passed to Joiqui Bell for 37 yards to the 2-yard line and Bell finished the drive to put Detroit ahead, 24-20, with 1:42 left in the first half. The drive covered 62 yards on five plays and took only 49 seconds to complete.
The Lions marched to a first-and-goal at the Steelers’ 1-yard line, but got only an Akers field goal from 19 yards out to make it 27-20 at the break.
A Jason Worilds sack to the 2-yard line gave the Steelers good field position when Brown fair caught a punt at the Lions’ 45-yard line and the Steelers marched inside the 1-yard line, but still settled for a 21-yard Suisham field goal to cut Detroit’s lead to 27-23 with 5:14 left in the third quarter.
Detroit marched from their 20-yard line to the Steelers’ 5-yard line, but a fake field goal backfired when Ryan Clark recovered punter Sam Martin’s fumble at the 3-yard line. Steve McClendon caused the fumble.
From there, the Steelers marched all 97 yards between them and the end zone. It took 16 plays, but Roethlisberger got the touchdown on a 1-yard pass to Will Johnson with 4:46 remaining and the Steelers were back in front, 30-27.
A Will Allen interception of a pass intended for Calvin Johnson with 4:11 left all but wrapped it up for Pittsburgh. Roethlisberger tied a bow on it with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jerricho Cotchery to make it 37-27 with 2:29 remaining.
“It was a play I’ve seen them run against the Dallas Cowboys,” Allen said. “So, I just played deep and waited for the ball to be thrown.”
Allen’s pick was the culmination of a second half that saw Detroit complete just three passes and none to Calvin Johnson, who had six for 179 and two scores in the first half.