COIN TOSS: Lions call tails. It's tails. Lions win the toss and elect to defer. The Steelers get the football first.
1:10 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers took the opening kickoff and drove 83 yards in 10 plays, with James Washington capping the possession with a 9-yard touchdown catch from Mason Rudolph with 9:40 remaining in the first quarter. Rudolph was 4-for-4 on the drive for 30 yards and the touchdown, in addition to a 29-yard pass interference penalty on Amani Oruwariye, who was covering Washington on the play. Najee Harris carried five times for 24 yards.
1:21 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers defense sent the Lions offense off the field with a quick three-and-out following the kickoff after James Washington's touchdown, and the offense got the ball at the 40-yard line following the punt. But the Steelers went three-and-out partly because Ray-Ray McCloud lost three yards on a touch pass on a second-and-1, and then Mason Rudolph was high on a third down attempt to Diontae Johnson. Pressley Harvin III's punt was fair caught at the 15-yard line.
1:34 p.m. – What Went Right: The defense saved the Steelers offense in this situation. Mason Rudolph's pass on a third-and-12 from the 45-yard was intended for Kalen Ballage but overthrown, and Julian Okwara intercepted for Detroit to give the Lions possession at their 48-yard line. Joe Haden batted away a deep pass attempt for Kalif Raymond, and then Joe Schobert and T.J. Watt made consecutive tackles on second and third-down running plays for no gain to force a Detroit punt.
FIRST QUARTER: Steelers 7, Lions 0
1:44 p.m. – What Went Wrong: It was another three-and-out for the Steelers offense, and this time Pressley Harvin's punt traveled 61 yards, but it was returned 48 yards by Kalif Raymond to the Steelers 39-yard line. After a 7-yard completion to Amon-Ra St. Brown, the Lions handed the ball off two times to Jermar Jefferson for 4 yards and then for 28 yards and the touchdown that tied the game at 7-7 with 12:43 left in the second quarter. On the touchdown run, Jefferson burst through the line between Isaiah Buggs and Isaiahh Loudermilk and wasn't touched until Minkah Fitzpatrick got a hand on him inside the 5-yard line.
2:01 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers ended up with three points on a 20-yard field goal by Chris Boswell that gave them a 10-7 lead with 4:22 left in the second quarter, but before that, they had a touchdown nullified by a holding penalty on Dan Moore Jr. The penalty nullified a 7-yard run by Najee Harris for the apparent touchdown, and replays showed that Moore had his hands inside on the block and Harris was beyond that before the flag was thrown.
2:18 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Lions tied the game, 10-10, with a 20-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, and if that was disappointing, what was even worse was that Detroit rushed for 52 of the 67 yards covered on the field goal drive. D'Andre Swift carried eight times for 52 yards, and he might have scored a touchdown on the play before the field goal attempt had Cam Heyward not made the tackle. The Lions ended up rushing for 114 yards (7.3 average per carry) in the first half.
HALFTIME: Steelers 10, Lions 10
2:40 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Lions received the second half kickoff and picked up right where they left off in the first half, which is to say they continued running the ball up and down the field. Starting at their 15-yard line, the Lions needed six plays (all runs) to cover 85 yards and take a 16-10 lead on a 42-yard touchdown run by Godwin Igwebuike. To that point, the Lions had 21 rushes for 199 yards. There was 12:09 left in the third quarter.
2:55 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Lions came into the game with the No. 32 red zone defense in the NFL, but the Steelers settled for a second red zone field goal – 23 yards by Chris Boswell – with 8:26 left in the third quarter to cut Detroit's lead to 16-13. Mason Rudolph carried twice on the drive for 33 yards, but once the Steelers got to a first-and-goal at the 5-yard line, the plays called were three straight passes, and all three were incomplete.
THIRD QUARTER: Lions 16, Steelers 13
3:28 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers tied the game with 11:31 remaining on a 51-yard field goal by Chris Boswell. Najee Harris gained 17 yards on four carries and caught a pass for 10 more, but the drive was sabotaged by an offensive pass interference penalty on James Washington.
3:54 p.m. – What Went Wrong: A 9-yard sack by Cam Heyward on a third-and-12 from the 11-yard line forced the Lions to punt, and after a fair catch by Ray-Ray McCloud the Steelers took possession at the Detroit 48-yard line with 3:22 remaining. Mason Rudolph had a pass tipped at the line of scrimmage on first down, and then after a 3-yard run by Najee Harris, the third down pass was incomplete. When Pressley Harvin's punt bounced into the end zone, the Lions got the ball at the 20-yard line with 2:22 remaining.
FOURTH QUARTER: Steelers 16, Lions 16
4:39 p.m. – What Went Wrong: To close an overtime that was filled with errors, the final one cost the Steelers a chance to have Chris Boswell attempt a field goal in overtime for the win. The Steelers final play was a pass to Pat Freiermuth, who caught the pass but had the ball knocked out of his hands by Will Harris at the Lions 38-yard line. Harris recovered with eight seconds left, the Lions ran one more play, and the game ended in a 16-16 tie.
FINAL SCORE: Steelers 16, Lions 16
