Things got off to a bit of a slow start in the 2012 season for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the sixth season under the guidance of head coach Mike Tomlin.
Just months prior in January, the Steelers were stunned on the road in overtime in the AFC Wild Card by the Denver Broncos and Tim Tebow, who hit Demaryius Thomas on a slant route for an 80-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage.
Attempting to shake off that shocking, disappointing loss, the Steelers were slow out of the gate the very next season, sitting at 1-2 on the year. Pittsburgh lost to Denver again — this time led by Peyton Manning — to open the 2012 season, but then bounced back to beat the New York Jets before losing to the Oakland Raiders on the road ahead of the Week 4 bye.
Returning home in Week 5 in early October to take on the cross-state Philadelphia Eagles, the Steelers found themselves needing a win against an explosive Eagles attack under head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Michael Vick.
Fortunately for Pittsburgh, the defense found its identity again and turned in a great performance, springboarding the Steelers to a stretch of five wins in six games.
Opening up the game, the Eagles received the kickoff and started to march down the field. Vick found receiver Jeremy Maclin for 9 yards, wide receiver Jason Avant for 12 yards and running back LeSean McCoy for 9 yards. The drive ultimately stalled after Steelers defensive end Ziggy Hood sacked Vick and cornerback Keenan Lewis broke up a third-down pass, forcing a punt.
That boost from the defense to open the game did nothing for Pittsburgh’s offense though as the Steelers went three-and-out and were fortunate to recover a Ben Roethlisberger fumble before punting the football away.
Philadelphia came right back out and went to work offensively as McCoy ripped off a 10-yard run and then Maclin drew a 31-yard pass interference penalty on cornerback Ike Taylor, putting the ball inside the red zone. The very next play, Vick found Maclin for 10 yards, setting up a first and goal.
Pittsburgh’s defense did the rest.
Vick tried to run into the end zone on a quarterback draw, but Steelers safety Ryan Clark got his helmet on the football and popped it loose, leading to a recovery in the end zone by linebacker Larry Foote, taking away the Eagles’ best scoring chance of the day.
That play by Clark with his back to his own goal-line proved to be a turning point early on for the Steelers, who seemed to be on their heels on both sides of the football.
After the fumble recovery, the Steelers offense created some breathing room thanks to an 18-yard completion from Roethlisberger to tight end Heath Miller and a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Eagles defensive end Darryl Tapp, putting the ball near midfield.
Running back Rashard Mendenhall then seemed to give the Steelers the real spark they needed, ripping off a 24-yard run up the gut, but the explosive run was negated by an illegal formation penalty on wide receiver Mike Wallace. Three plays later, punter Drew Butler kicked the ball away.
Pittsburgh’s defense came out fired up though and forced another Vick fumble, this time by linebacker Lawrence Timmons, who was seemingly all over the field in the Oct. 7 matchup.
Vick was a bit loose with the football again trying to make a play with his legs, and Timmons never gave up on the rush, racing to Vick to punch the ball out. Incredibly, the ball bounced right to Foote once again, but the turnover came at a cost as safety Troy Polamalu hobbled off with a calf injury, knocking him out of the rest of the game.
With great field position after the Vick fumble, Pittsburgh tried to take advantage.
They failed.
Three straight incompletions from Roethlisberger to receivers Emmanuel Sanders, Antonio Brown and Wallace resulted in a turnover on downs, creating quite a defensive battle in the Steel City.
Six plays after the turnover on downs, Philadelphia punted the football way. This time, Pittsburgh found the right gear offensively.
Roethlisberger hit Wallace for 9 yards, Brown for 11 and then Wallace for 8 yards before a few plays later hitting Mendenhall out of the backfield on a backwards pass. It went down as a rushing attempt, resulting in a 13-yard touchdown for the Steelers behind a nice block by backup tight end David Paulson to create a lane, giving the Steelers a 7-0 lead with 5:01 left in the first half.
Philadelphia tried to answer back late in the first half and seemed to be on a roll early in the drive as Vick hit wide receiver DeSean Jackson for 23 yards, but three plays later outside linebacker Jason Worilds shut down the drive with a sack of Vick, forcing a punt.
Pittsburgh went back to work offensively and drained the clock, moving methodically down the field.
Roethlisberger hit Miller for 15 yards, Brown for 11 yards and then Sanders or 12 yards. Following the second timeout of the drive, Roethlisberger hit Brown for 18 yards and then wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery for 7 yards, but the Steelers couldn’t finish the drive — something that became a trend in the game — settling for a 20-yard field goal from Shaun Suisham to head into the half with a 10-0 lead.
Coming out of the locker room with a 10-0 lead and dominating defensively, the Steelers aimed to stretch the lead. Things started fast thanks to a big run from Mendenhall off left tackle, but the standout running back coughed the football up without being touched at the end of a 17-yard run, though thankfully the ball rolled out of bounds and the Steelers retained possession.
He was so fun to watch in space with that galloping stride, but man the fumbles were infuriating.
After the fumble out of bounds the Steelers couldn’t move the ball and ultimately punted the ball away. The Eagles took advantage.
After an unnecessary roughness penalty on Clark on a high hit on Eagles tight end Brent Celek, the Eagles marched the ball down the field. Vick found Maclin for 11 yards and added 15 more on a personal foul penalty on Ryan Mundy, who had replaced the injured Polamalu. Vick then found Avant on the next play for 10 yards, setting up a 15-yard touchdown pass to McCoy out of the backfield with 6:40 left in the third quarter, making it a 10-7 game.
The two teams then traded three and outs before the Steelers leaned heavily on the running game to get going offensively again.
Mendenhall ripped off runs of 7 yards, 9 yards and 4 yards, bludgeoning the Eagles’ front.
What footwork in the backfield from Mendenhall, and a tremendous block by fullback Will Johnson to give him just enough time to beat the blitzing linebacker.
After Mendenhall’s three impactful runs, the Steelers called on backup running back Isaac Redman. He responded with a 14-yard run, setting up a 14-yard completion from Roethlisberger to Brown as the Steelers drove deep into Eagles territory.
Look at the block from Heath Miller on the quick screen! Talk about throwing the defender out of the club.
The drive stalled though as Redman gained just four yards on two carries and Roethlisberger threw incomplete for Miller on third and six, forcing the Steelers to settle for a 34-yard field goal from Suisham and a 13-7 lead with 14:55 left.
It wouldn’t be enough.
Seventeen plays later, Philadelphia was in front.
The Eagles started hitting some quick throws and converted a fourth and one early in the drive on a McCoy run. Then, Vick hit Avant for 12 yards. After chipping away with 4-, 5-, and 6-yard gains on the ground and through the air, Vick hit Jackson for 24 yards, putting the Eagles at the Steelers 10-yard line midway through the fourth quarter.
Two plays later, Vick hit Celek on a rollout for a 2-yard touchdown, giving the Eagles a 14-13 lead with 6:38 left in the game.
Pittsburgh never gave the ball back.
Things didn’t start off well though as right tackle Willie Colon was called for an offensive holding.
Three plays later on third and 12, Roethlisberger hit Brown for 20 yards over the middle, moving the chains. Two plays after that, Roethlisberger hit Mendenhall for 15 yards out of the backfield, and then found Sanders for seven yards, forcing the Eagles to burn their third and final timeout with the Steelers in field goal range.
After that it was all run game as Mendenhall and Redman moved the chains one final time, setting up a game-winning field goal attempt by Suisham.
Never. A. Doubt. Right down the middle.
Steelers 16, Eagles 14. Final.
The win moved Pittsburgh to 2-2, and like I wrote earlier, sparked them to go on and win four of their next five games.
In the win, Roethlisberger finished 22-for-38 for 220 yards and a touchdown. Mendenhall carried the football 13 times for 68 yards and added three receptions for 33 yards and a score. Redman added 13 carries for 41 yards. Brown led the way with seven receptions for 86 yards, while Miller chipped in with four catches for 41 yards.
Defensively, Worilds, Hood and nose tackle Steve McLendon recorded one sack each, while Timmons led the way with nine tackles and two tackles for loss. Foote added eight tackles and two fumble recoveries.
For the Eagles, Vick finished 20-of-30 for 175 yards and two touchdowns, while McCoy rushed for 53 yards on 16 carries and added four receptions for 27 yards and a touchdown. Jackson led the way with four receptions for 58 yards, while Maclin added five receptions for 39 yards.
Defensively for Philadelphia, DeMeco Ryans recorded a game-high 12 tackles.
The Steelers ultimately went on to finish that season a disappointing 8-8 after losing five of their last seven games, missing the playoffs in what ended up being the first of two straight seasons going 8-8. The Eagles, on the other hand, went into a tailspin, losing seven straight games after the Week 5 loss to the Steelers, finishing 4-12 on the year. They’d win just one other game that season after the Pittsburgh game, beating Tampa Bay in Week 14 before losing the final three games of the year.
