Following each game in the 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers season, I will highlight the event or string of events in the game that is the turning point. Not all turning points will be earth-shattering but are meant to give a unique look at how we arrived at the outcome of the game, one that may be hard to see during the live watch.
The Pittsburgh Steelers won their Week 10 game against the Green Bay Packers by a score of 23-19. There were three lead changes, and it came down to the final play with the Packers on the 16-yard line with three seconds remaining. QB Jordan Love ended up throwing an interception to S Damontae Kazee to give the Steelers the win.
The Packers were put in the position to have to go for a touchdown at the end of the game due to the blocked extra point in the second quarter. Patrick Peterson was able to get into the backfield and block it nearly untouched. He didn’t even need to dive as is often required to block a kick.
Peterson is 33 years old and very likely to enter the Hall of Fame at some point in the future. Many players in his position wouldn’t participate in special teams, but thank goodness he does. He actually had a very similar blocked field goal last season as a member of the Minnesota Vikings against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur spoke about how the blocked extra point changed the complexion of the game in his postgame press conference posted on the Packers’ YouTube channel.
“Anytime you get a PAT blocked, it just changes some of the decision making at the end of a game where you’re going for touchdowns instead of having the option of kicking a field goal to tie the game up,” he said after Green Bay’s loss.
That block by Peterson ended up being crucial. The Steelers had a four point lead with the ball in their hands and 3:20 remaining on the clock. They weren’t able to end the game with the offense on the field, but they did manage to eat up all three of the Packers’ timeouts and the two-minute warning stoppage. At that point it seemed pretty unlikely that the Packers would be able to drive the field and have a chance at a touchdown with 59 seconds remaining and zero timeouts.
The first play of their drive was a 43-yard connection between Love and WR Jayden Reed. Then it became clear that the Packers would indeed have a shot at ending the game with a score before time expired. A nervous sweat began to form on the brow of the Steelers’ faithful. That sweat would have been coming out in buckets if not for the blocked extra point earlier in the game as the Packers were well within field goal range after the first play of the drive. This game would have likely went to overtime and then who knows what could have happened.
So when the question is asked how the Steelers manage to keep stacking wins despite their horrific point and yardage differentials, plays like this are the reason why.
