COIN TOSS: Lions call heads. It's tails. Steelers elect to defer. Detroit gets the ball first.
4:38 p.m. – What Went Right: The Lions received the opening kickoff and after getting one first down, they then faced a third-and-3 from the Steelers 49-yard line. On a counter-run by Jemar Jefferson, T.J. Watt came from the back side and dumped him for a 4-yard loss. Gunner Olszewski's 12-yard return of Jack Fox's punt gave the Steelers the ball at the 21-yard line to begin their opening possession.
4:44 p.m. – What Went Wrong: Mitch Trubisky was sacked twice on the opening possession, for losses of 1 and 9 yards, respectively. On the first, Trubisky was rolling to his right and looking to get the ball to Diontae Johnson, whose progress cutting across the field was impeded by holding by one of the Lions defensive backs. On the second, the Lions rush pushed the interior of the offensive line – Kevin Dotson, Mason Cole, and James Daniels – right into Trubisky.
5:01 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers took a 3-0 lead on a 45-yard field goal by Chris Boswell that capped a 10-play, 58-yard drive that consumed 6:14 of time on the clock. Facing a third-and-2 at their 23-yard line early in the drive, Mitch Trubisky threw a perfect pass down the left sideline and Diontae Johnson made a great catch between two defenders for a 38-yard gain. And the Najee Harris ripped off an 11-yard run and then caught a short pass and ran for 9 more on back-to-back plays and the Steelers had the ball at the Lions 19-yard line. But then Dan Moore Jr. was flagged for holding on two of the next four plays, and the Steelers ultimately faced a third-and-23 at the Detroit 27-yard line.
FIRST QUARTER: Steelers 3, Lions 0
5:16 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers came up with the game's first takeaway when Cam Sutton intercepted Tim Boyle and returned it 45 yards to the Lions 19-yard line. Four plays netted only 3 yards, and the Steelers again settled for a Chris Boswell field goal, this one from 34 yards, to take a 6-0 lead with 12:32 remaining in the first half.
5:28 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers took a 9-0 lead, but once again they had good field position only to fail to convert on third down and then settled for a Chris Boswell, this one from 38 yards with 8:45 left in the first half. The offense was given great field position when the Lions elected to go for it on a fourth-and-1 from their own 25-yard line. But Justin Jackson was dropped for no gain by Davin Bush, who knifed in from the right side and made the tackle at the line of scrimmage. But then the offense gained 5 yards on three plays before settling for Boswell's field goal.
5:59 p.m. – What Went Right: Mitch Trubisky very likely cemented the starting quarterback job to open the season by directing a six-play, 92-yard drive that took 1:20 and was capped by his 6-yard touchdown pass to Steven Sims with 14 seconds left in the first half to give the Steelers a 16-0 lead. On the drive, Trubisky completed 6-of-6 for 83 yards, plus the touchdown to Sims. On consecutive plays, Trubisky completed a 22-yard pass to George Pickens and a 32-yard pass to Pat Freiermuth to put the ball at the Lions 6-yard line with 16 seconds left in the first half. Trubisky hit Sims for the touchdown on the next play.
HALFTIME: Steelers 16, Lions 0
6:30 p.m. – What Went Right: With 10:01 left in the third quarter, the Steelers lost their shutout on a 36-yard field goal by Austin Seibert, but the defense stood up and forced the field goal. On both second and third-and-2 from the Pittsburgh 18-yard line, Tim Boyle had passes batted down at the line of scrimmage, by Derrek Tuszka on second down and then by DeMarvin Leal on third down. The Lions settled for the field goal by Seibert to cut their deficit to 16-3 ith 10:01 left in the third quarter.
6:41 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers had a chance to match Seibert's field goal when Chris Boswell lined up for an attempt from the Detroit 11-yard line. But the kick was blocked by defensive lineman Austin Bryant. The big play on the possession was a 29-yard back-shoulder completion to Miles Boykin that converted a second-and-7 from the Detroit 40-yard line.
6:55 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers got the field goal back when Chris Boswell came back and made a 54-yard attempt that gave the Steelers a 19-3 lead with 12:59 left in the fourth quarter. Kenny Pickett completed 4-of-6 for 28 yards on the drive.
7:10 p.m. – What Went Right: The possession covered 68 yards, but the only significant issue was that it resulted in no points. After the Lions moved to a first-and-goal at the 8-yard line, Craig Reynolds gained 1 yard on first down, Carlins Platel broke up a pass in the end zone on second down, Buddy Johnson broke up a pass on third down, and Kalil Pimpleton dropped a pass on fourth down.
FINAL SCORE: Steelers 19, Lions 9
