Despite a furious comeback attempt by the Detroit Lions, the Pittsburgh Steelers recorded a 29-24 win in a wild game that literally came down to the wire.
For a second, it appeared that the Lions won the game on the game's final play after Jared Goff found the end zone after catching a lateral by Amon-Ra St. Brown. But the officials determined that St. Brown had committed offensive pass interference, thereby negating Goff's score and giving the Steelers the win.
Pittsburgh led by 12 points late in the game on the strength of not one, but two 45-yard touchdown runs by Jaylen Warren. A touchdown pass by Jared Goff, however, and a missed field goal by Jared Goff gave the Lions a chance to steal the win while keeping their playoff hopes alive. And while the Lions got close, they were unable to pull off the comeback, as the Steelers improved to 9-6 while Detroit fell to 8-7. The Lions will now need to win out and hope the Packers lose their last two games if they are going to make the playoffs for a third straight year.
Goff threw for 364 yards and three touchdowns in a losing cause. Aaron Rodgers threw for 266 yards and a touchdown pass while improving his record to 19-8 all time against the Lions. The Steelers ran for a whopping 230 yards on 27 carries, while the Lions ran for just 15 yards on 12 carries.
The final moments of Sunday's game was nothing short of chaos.
With 25 seconds left, Goff hit St. Brown for what appeared to be the game-winning score before an offsides penalty wiped out the score. Another penalty moved the ball to the 16-yard line with 22 seconds left.
Two straight incompletions set the stage for a fourth-and-goal from Pittsburgh's nine-yard-line with eight seconds left. Goff's pass was caught by St. Brown, who tried to lateral the ball as the officials were whistling the play dead. Undeterred, Goff caught St. Brown's lateral and leapt into the end zone.
After seemingly an eternity, the officials announced that St. Brown had been penalized for pushing off on Jalen Ramsey prior to catching the ball, resulting in offensive pass interference. That ended the game as time is not put back onto the clock for offensive penalties.
As noted above, the Steelers got not one but two 45-yard touchdown runs in the second half by Warren, who finished with 143 yards on 14 carries. The runs were Warren's longest since his 74-yard touchdown run in Cleveland during the 2023 season.
After taking an early 3-0 lead, the Steelers trailed late in the first half before Kenneth Gainwell's improbable, 45-yard catch and run tied the score just before halftime. After it was initially ruled an incomplete pass, the officials currently determined that Gainwell had caught the ball before getting up and racing to pay dirt.
Pittsburgh was on the verge of scoring on its first drive of the second half, but a fumble by Darnell Washington just yards away from the end zone short-circuited the drive. The Steelers scored moments later, however, when safety Kyle Dugger sacked Goff in the end zone, resulting in a safety.
Pittsburgh takes into its lead with a field goal on its ensuing drive before making it a 22-10 game following Warren's first long touchdown run.
While he did come up empty on a fourth-down play early in the first half, Goff nonetheless put up a gamely fight while giving the Lions a chance to steal the win.
Goff was especially efficient running the no-huddle after the Lions had fallen behind by double digits. The pace seemed to help the Lions' injury-plagued offensive line while keeping the Steelers' pass rush (which didn't include T.J. Watt or Nick Herbig, who were sidelined with injuries) at bay.
While Goff put up some big numbers, the same couldn't be said for Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, who ran for a combined 16 yards on 11 carries. The Lions ran the ball just once in the second half.
Steelers wideout DK Metcalf was seen throwing a punch at a Lions fan during the first half. While he will undoubtedly face punishment by the league for his actions, Metcalf stayed in the game as the sequence clearly wasn't seen by the officials.
With the win, the Steelers extended their run of consecutive non-losing seasons to 22, an NFL record. Mike Tomlin has also extended his record of 19 straight non-losing seasons to begin a coaching career.
Goff scored on a fumble, but the officials determined that there was offensive pass interference on St. Brown. Offensive penalties negate more time on the clock.
So the Steelers win, 29-24, extending their lead in the AFC North to 1.5 games and virtually eliminating the Lions from the playoffs.
Goff found TeSlaa, but he wasn't able to secure the catch. It comes down to this.
Lions now have two plays to score. Steelers rush only three and Goff had no one open. He throws it away instead of taking more time.
The Lions call time with 16 seconds left on their own nine-yard-line. They've got three plays to score.
Pick penalty on TeSlaa wipes out St. Brown TD. Lions backed up five more yards after a false start penalty. The Lions are now on their 16-yard-down with 22 seconds left.
Goff hits St. Brown for 24 yard completion, as the Lions are now in the red zone. Goff quickly throws incomplete on first down, so the Lions have a second down from the 12 with 48 seconds left.
Goff is sacked, but Alex Highsmith is called for tripping, giving the Lions a first down in Steelers territory with 1:19 left. Highsmith immediately knew that he committed a penalty.
It's a 15-yard penalty, moving the ball to Pittsburgh's 36.
Goff's fourth-down pass is broken up, but DPI is called against Kyle Dugger. He arrived a little early behind Jameson Williams. The Lions will have the ball at midfield with 1:29 left, and they still have a time out.
Chris Boswell, who has been almost automatic during his 11 years in Pittsburgh, has his 37-yard attempt hit the right goal post. That miss can be attributed to a low snap.
The Lions can now win the game with a TD. They've got 2:05 and a timeout to work with. Gibbs dropped for a loss just before the two minute warning. That was the Lions' first rushing attempt this half, and they're at 15 yards on 12 carries for the day.
Goff hits Gibbs for a short TD as Lions make it a 29-24 game with 4:11 left.
Incredible that the Lions have not attempted a run this half.
Warren has scored his second 45-yard TD run of the half while extending the Steelers' lead to 29-17 with 6:41 left. The Steelers have three scores today of 45 yards when you include Gainwell's 45-yard TD catch late in the first half.
Warren is up to a whopping 143 yards on 14 carries.
Goff hits Raymond (who has had a very nice game) for a score as the Lions make it a 22-17 game with 8:39 left. Crazy the Lions are in this game despite having just 18 yards rushing and zero rushing attempts this half.
Detroit's score came on fourth down after the Lions came up empty on their initial fourth down attempt in the first half. The two teams are a combined 3 of 4 on fourth down today.
The question now is if the defense can get the Steelers' offense off the field with enough time to mount another drive.
Goff's eight-yard completion to Kalif Raymond is the Lions' first first down of the second half with 11:40 left in the game. Lions going hurry up as they need two scores. Detroit has yet to attempt a running play this half.
Jaylen Warren races 45 yards to the house as the Steelers extend their lead to 22-10 with 12:23 left. Steelers have completely dominated since the Lions took the lead with just over two minutes left in the half.
Pittsburgh has been exceptional in the air and on the ground. Rodgers is 25 of 38 for 238 yards, and the running game is up to 145 yards and a TD on 21 carries.
That run is Warren's longest since his 74-yard TD run back in 2023 vs. the Browns.
Detroit only moves backwards on its first drive of the fourth quarter. Lions still waiting for their first first down of the second half.
Goff was off the mark on that drive drive. I said it earlier but worth repeating: it's very clear that the Lions' offense is struggling due to offensive line injuries, but that shouldn't take away from how good the Steelers' defense has played.
Chris Boswell hits the chip shot, making it a 15-10 game to open the fourth quarter.
Goff has been very efficient today, but the Lions' running game has been stuck at 18 yards on 11 carries. They have not had a rushing attempt this half.
Pittsburgh will start the fourth quarter with a Chris Boswell field goal attempt to start the fourth quarter. The Steelers ran 29 plays for 129 yards in the third quarter compared to the Lions' three plays for -3 yards.
Despite Pittsburgh's offensive success, the only points scored in the quarter was Dugger's safety that gave the Steelers the lead.
Rodgers hits Metcalf for a wide open TD, but the score is waived off after Washington gets flagged for OPI. It's been a tough quarter for Washington, who fumbled on Pittsburgh's previous drive.
The Steelers use "The Spartan" for the first time today and it results in a first down by Gainwell. Steelers are now goal to go.
Scotty Miller makes another big catch -- this one on third-down -- as the Steelers are now back in the red zone. Miller has three catches on this drive after having just one catch entering today.
Rodgers hits Scotty Miller for a first down on fourth-and-2. That's just Miller's second grab of the year. The Steelers are now 4 of 4 on fourth down over their past two games and are now in FG range with 6:00 left in the third quarter and leading 12-10.
Rodgers heaves a bomb to Marquez Valdes-Scantling that he just missed catching that would have extended the Steelers' lead. Rodgers threw that about 60 yards in the air with no issue. MVS is going to the tent after falling hard on the play.
Despite the turnover, the Steelers get points off of a safety by safety Kyle Dugger, who has been a huge in-season addition for Pittsburgh's defense. The Steelers will now get the ball back via a free kick. They also have a 12-10 lead early in the second half.
Detroit appeared to jar the ball loose just before Darnell Washington hit the ground on a short pass from Rodgers inside the Lions' 10-yard-line. Rodgers tried to get off a quick snap, but the officials stepped in just before he could get a snap off.
Barring something unexpected, this call will be overruled and the Lions will take possession after recording the game's first turnover.
A clutch completion from Rodgers to Thielen sets up a 21-yard run by Jaylen Warren, as the Steelers are in the red zone for the first time. Pittsburgh's offense has found its rhythm over its last two series. Rodgers has looked extremely comfortable running the Steelers' offense over the past three games.
Since they deferred, the Steelers get a chance to bookend the half with scores after getting a TD at the end of the first half. Steelers come out with consecutive runs after having less than 10 rushing attempts in the first half.
Score: 10-10
First downs: Lions, 10-8
Third down: Steelers 5-9, Lions 3-7
4th down: Lions 0-1
Total yards: Lions, 167-158
TOP: Lions, 16:11
Rodgers: 14/24, 141 yards, TD, 2 sacks
Goff: 15/20, 162 yards, TD, 2 sacks
Steelers: 32 yards on six carries
Lions: 18 yards on 11 carries
Rodgers heaves a deep pass that initially appeared to be incomplete but Gainwell snares it in and races for a 45-yard, game-tying touchdown that makes it a 10-10 game with two seconds left until halftime.
Pittsburgh's leading receiver, Gainwell is making a serious case to be the team's MVP along with Rodgers.
Rodgers hits Adam Thielen for 12 yards as the Steelers convert again on third down through the air. Steelers trying to cut into their 10-3 deficit before halftime.
Goff hits Isaac TeSlaa for a 20-yard scoring strike with 1:55 left in the first half. Goff has had a big half with 162 yards on 15 of 20 passing. His passing has made up for a running game that has gained just 19 yards on 10 carries.
