WHAT WENT RIGHT
* A post-play personal foul penalty on Bobby Massie moved the Cardinals out of field goal range on their first possession, and instead Arizona chose to punt.
- On the first play of Arizona's third offensive series, Carson Palmer's attempted short pass over the middle for Jermaine Gresham was tipped by Vince Williams and then intercepted by Lawrence Timmons at the Steelers 48-yard line.
- The Steelers got on the scoreboard after getting some help with field position by a missed field goal by Chandler Catanzaro, who was wide left on a 47-yard attempt. Le'Veon Bell gained 12 yards rushing on the series, Mike Vick ran for 10 more, and the Steelers also benefitted from a 15-yard penalty on Kevin Minter for unnecessary roughness. Chris Boswell then cam on and converted his 47-yard field goal attempt to cut the Cardinals lead to 7-3.
- It was a little bit of schoolyard offense for the Steelers on the opening possession of the second half, and it ended with another Chris Boswell field goal that cut the Cardinals lead to 10-6. A 35-yard kickoff return by Dri Archer started things off, and then it was a reverse to Martavis Bryant that gained 8 yards. Off a flea-flicker, Mike Vick ran for 10 yards, and then he scrambled for another 7 two plays later.
- Following the kickoff, the Steelers defense recorded its second takeaway of the game. On a second-and-6 from the Arizona 27-yard line, Carson Palmer completed a short pass to John Brown only have to have James Harrison come across and deliver a big hit to knock the ball out. Mike Mitchell came out of the pile with the fumble, and the Steelers had the football at the Arizona 32-yard line.
- With Mike Vick being evaluated for a hamstring injury, Landry Jones took over at quarterback. On the first play after the fumble, Le'Veon Bell ripped off a 22-yard run to set up a first-and-goal at the 10-yard line. On third-and-goal from the 8-yard line, Jones found Martavis Bryant in the back of the end zone for the touchdown that gave the Steelers a 12-10 lead.
- Late in the third quarter, the Steelers extended their two-point lead to five points when Landry Jones converted a third-and-13 with a 23-yard pass to Martavis Bryant, and then a subsequent 8-yard completion to Bryant got the Steelers into field goal range. Chris Boswell converted from 51 yards out to make it 15-10.
- The Steelers answered a Cardinals field goal with one of their own, and they held an 18-13 lead when Arizona got the ball with 7:13 to play. The Cardinals moved 59 yards to a first down at the Pittsburgh 20-yard line when Carson Palmer took a shot at the end zone, but Mike Mitchell intercepted the pass that was intended for John Brown.
- Two plays after the interception, Landry Jones completed a pass to Martavis Bryant that looked like it was going to convert the second-and-12, but Bryant's open-field running and a missed tackle in the secondary turned it into an 88-yard catch-and-run for the touchdown that gave the Steelers a 25-13 lead.
WHAT WENT WRONG
* On the first snap of the game, the Cardinals took a shot deep down the field that seemed to be going right into the teeth of the Steelers coverage. As Carson Palmer released the ball – toward intended receiver John Brown – the Steelers had the play well covered. In fact, Ross Cockrell seemed to be tracking the ball to intercept it. But when the ball arrived, Brown went high and snatched the ball for a 45-yard gain.
- A second chance for a Steelers takeaway came two plays later, when Carson Palmer fumbled on an attempted handoff. Sean Spence had a chance at the recovery, but guard Bobby Massie recovered for the Cardinals.
- After an opening offensive series that had the Steelers lose 2 yards in three plays, Jordan Berry's first punt traveled only 31 yards to allow the Cardinals to begin their second possession at the Pittsburgh 47-yard line.
- The Cardinals took advantage of this field position to score the touchdown that gave them a 7-0 lead. The big play on the drive came on a third-and-2 when 35-year-old Carson Palmer escaped the pass rush and found Andre Ellington all alone down the field for a 32-yard gain to the Steelers' 7-yard line. Three plays later, Palmer's 3-yard pass to Michael Floyd was good for the touchdown.
- At the end of the first quarter, the Steelers' only first down had come on a roughing the passer penalty, and the offense had 5 yards of total offense.
- The Steelers finished the first half with 6 yards passing, which after being adjusted for sacks, meant they had 1 net yard passing on three completions in seven attempts. Other disturbing offensive statistics for the Steelers ate the end of the first half: 0-for-6 on third downs, 59 total net yards, and Mike Vick leading the team in rushing with three carries for 30 yards.
- Following the touchdown pass from Landry Jones to Martavis Bryant that gave the Steelers their first lead of the game, 12-10, Coach Mike Tomlin elected to go for two points in an effort to eliminate a field goal from tying the score. Jones' pass was intercepted in the end zone, but since that came on a conversion attempt the play does not count as a turnover.
- The Steelers lost starting left tackle Kelvin Beachum when he sustained an ACL injury to his left knee.
- With the Steelers holding an 18-13 lead, the Steelers had a chance to put the Cardinals in a third-and-long hole with 5:47 remaining. But the holding penalty on Jared Veldheer that would have made it third-and-18 from the 27-yard line was offset by a pass interference call on Ross Cockrell.
