ANOTHER IN A SERIES OF STORIES OFFERING SUGGESTIONS TO STEELERS FANS ABOUT TAKING ADVANTAGE OF FREE NFL GAME PASS.
The NFL will be offering complimentary access to NFL Game Pass to provide fans the opportunity to relive games and moments from seasons past.
NFL Game Pass offers an extensive library of football programming for fans, including access to regular season and postseason games; to previous years of NFL Films' series such as Hard Knocks and A Football Life; and exclusive NFL Game Pass Film Sessions with some of the league's star players and coaches.
To sign up for the complimentary access to NFL Game Pass, fans need to create an account on the web at NFL.com/GamePass, or via the NFL app across mobile and connected TV devices.
Today's suggestions for viewing past games are from the Steelers' 2013 and 2014 seasons:
OCT. 20, 2013: STEELERS 19, RAVENS 16
After starting the season with a four-game losing streak, the Steelers raised their record to 2-4 with a victory over Baltimore that was made possible by Shaun Suisham's 42-yard field goal as time expired. It was a typical Steelers-Ravens game in that neither team ever led by more than one score, neither team managed 300 yards of total net offense, and the outcome was decided late in the fourth quarter. A Baltimore touchdown tied the game just inside the two-minute warning, but the Steelers got a 44-yard kickoff return from Emmanuel Sanders to launch a seven-play, 39-yard drive that ended with Suisham's fourth field goal of the afternoon. The Ravens fell to 3-4 with the loss.
DEC. 22, 2013: STEELERS 38, PACKERS 31
Why did the Steelers pick Michigan State's Le'Veon Bell over Alabama's Eddie Lacy when they were looking to add a running back in the second round of the NFL Draft eight months earlier? While Lacy had a nice game with 84 yards on 15 carries to go along with two touchdowns, Bell showed why the Steelers saw him as an NFL franchise back. Bell carried 26 times and gained 124 yards (4.8 average), and his 1-yard touchdown run with 85 seconds left proved to be the deciding score. But even though Bell's touchdown was the deciding score, the outcome wasn't secured until the Steelers defense kept the Packers out of the end zone despite Green Bay advancing to a goal-to-go situation. Brett Keisel didn't finish with a lot of statistics, but he had one sack, one tackle-for-loss, and one fumble recovery, all of which were critical to the outcome.
OCT. 20, 2014: STEELERS 30, TEXANS 23
For a three-week period during the 2014 season that began with this game, Ben Roethlisberger played quarterback at a level arguably unmatched in franchise history. The Steelers fell behind, 13-0, but then exploded for 24 points in the second quarter and never looked back. In that second quarter, the Steelers had five offensive possessions and turned those into three touchdowns and a field goal, with Roethlisberger completing 12-of-17 for 170 yards, with two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a rating of 141.8 in the first half. For the game, he completed 23-of-33 for 265 yards, with two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a rating of 113.8. On defense, Brett Keisel had an interception, and Troy Polamalu recovered a fumble.
OCT. 26, 2014: STEELERS 51, COLTS 34
Coming off a short week, the Steelers raised their record to 5-3, and Ben Roethlisberger was better than he was in the victory over Houston. The Steelers held a 7-3 lead at the end of the first quarter, but come halftime their edge had ballooned to 35-20. Roethlisberger completed 40-of-49 (81.6 percent) for 522 yards, with six touchdowns, no interceptions, and a rating of 150.6. Antonio Brown caught 10 passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns; Heath Miller caught seven passes for 112 yards and a touchdown; and Martavis Bryant caught five passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, Will Gay had a 33-yard pick six, and while James Harrison had the only two sacks, the Steelers hit Andrew Luck 11 other times.
NOV. 2, 2014: STEELERS 43, RAVENS 23
Any thought that the Baltimore defense would slow down Roethlisberger went out the window quickly. The Ravens scored first to take a 7-0 lead, but Roethlisberger led the Steelers on a 29-3 tear that had Pittsburgh holding a 29-10 lead with 14 minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Roethlisberger finished the game by completing 25-of-37 for 340 yards, with six touchdowns, no interceptions, and a rating of 136.3. Martavis Bryant caught two touchdown passes, while Le'Veon Bell, Markus Wheaton, Antonio Brown, and Matt Spaeth caught one apiece. On defense, the Steelers finished with four sacks and two takeaways, and over this three-game stretch, Roethlisberger completed 88-of-119 (73.9 percent) for 1,127 yards, with 14 touchdowns, no interceptions, and a rating of 142.9.
NEXT: The 2015 and 2016 seasons
