Jaylen Warren rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns, Kenneth Gainwell caught a highlight-reel touchdown pass, and the Pittsburgh Steelers escaped with a 29-24 win over the host Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon.
Aaron Rodgers completed 27 of 41 passes for 266 yards and a touchdown for Pittsburgh (9-6), which won its third game in a row. The Steelers guaranteed that they will not have a losing record in the regular season, extending a streak that started in 2004.
Jared Goff completed 34 of 54 passes for 364 yards and three touchdowns for Detroit (8-7). Isaac TeSlaa, Kalif Raymond and Jahmyr Gibbs caught one touchdown apiece.
The game ended with a bizarre sequence as Lions wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown was called for offensive pass interference, which negated what would have been a winning touchdown as time expired. Referees huddled for several minutes before announcing the final call.
The Steelers opened the scoring early in the first quarter. Chris Boswell boomed a 59-yard kick through the uprights.
Detroit pulled even at 3-all on Jake Bates’ 36-yard field goal with 10:10 left in the half.
The Lions grabbed a 10-3 lead with 1:55 remaining in the half. Goff ripped a pass over the middle to TeSlaa, who held on despite a big hit for a 20-yard touchdown.
A wild play allowed the Steelers to even the score at 10-all with 2 seconds to go in the half. Gainwell caught a high-arcing pass while falling down inside the Lions’ 15-yard line, and he popped to his feet and sprinted to the end zone before the defense could react for a 45-yard score.
The Pittsburgh defense got on the scoreboard early in the third quarter. Safety Kyle Dugger sacked Goff in the end zone for a safety to make it 12-10 in favor of the Steelers.
A 23-yard field goal by Boswell made it 15-10 for Pittsburgh with 14:58 left.
The Steelers’ hot stretch continued as Warren broke loose for a 45-yard touchdown run with 12:23 remaining. He took a toss left and outraced the Lions defense to make it 22-10.
Goff helped the Lions cut the deficit to 22-17 on the next possession. He tossed a 27-yard touchdown pass to Raymond with 8:39 to play.
Warren responded with his second 45-yard rushing touchdown of the afternoon. He bounced toward the left sideline and flashed his speed again to make it 29-17.
Goff found Gibbs for a 4-yard touchdown to pull the Lions within 29-24 with 4:11 remaining.
