The Pittsburgh Steelers had their worst performance of the season, and one of their worst ever, getting dominated in all facets by the Arizona Cardinals, who came into the game at 2-10, in a 24-10 loss.
The Cardinals won the toss and chose to defer, and the Steelers opened with the ball. On first down, QB Kenny Pickett hit WR George Pickens for a 13-yard gain, then RB Najee Harris ran for nine yards and Pickett went deep and found Pickens for a 38-yard gain down to the Arizona 16. Harris ran for another four yards on first down, but Pickett was incomplete on second down setting up 3rd and 6. Pickett was hit as he threw on third down and the Steelers settled for a 29-yard Chris Boswell field goal to take a 3-0 lead with 12:01 left in the first quarter.
Arizona went three-and-out on its first drive of the game. Pittsburgh got the ball back on its own 29. A bobbled snap on 3rd and 2 ended the Steelers’ drive, and they had their first three-and-out since Week 11. Arizona took over at its 35 after a 10-yard return following a 44-yard punt by Pressley Harvin III.
Arizona picked up a first down on the first play of its drive on a 13-yard completion to TE Trey McBride. On 3rd and 12, Murray threw incomplete to RB Emari Demercado on a swing pass, but a helmet-to-helmet hit by LB Elandon Roberts was flagged for unnecessary roughness and the Cardinals got a new set of downs. Arizona moved the ball down to the Pittsburgh 33 and brought out K Matt Prater for a 51-yard field goal try, and Prater was good. The Cardinals tied the game at 3-3 with 5:44 left in the first quarter.
The Steelers picked up a first down after a seven-yard run by Harris and then a five-yard reception by Johnson, but a four-yard loss on first down put the Steelers in a 2nd and 14. Pittsburgh couldn’t pick up a first down after a 10-yard run by Warren on third down, but good punt coverage forced the Cardinals to start their next drive at their own 16. Arizona went three-and-out thanks to a third-down sack by OLB Alex Highsmith.
Pittsburgh followed it up with another three-and-out, and a flag on S Miles Killebrew for kick-catch interference set up Arizona at their own 34. Arizona picked up a first down but couldn’t do much more, and it punted back to Pittsburgh, who took over at its own 20.
The Steelers drive started with a six-yard run by Harris, but they were flagged for illegal formation on second down. A defensive pass interference penalty against CB Marco Wilson gave the Steelers a new set of downs at their own 37, and then RB Jaylen Warren ran for 18 yards and a first down to the Arizona 45. Another first down two plays later came on a Pickett-Pickens connection for 10 yards. On 3rd and 3 from the Arizona 15, the Steelers converted their first third down of the game on an eight-yard completion to TE Pat Freiermuth. But the Steelers couldn’t punch it in, with Pickett getting injured on a third-down scramble and a fourth-down run by Harris short of the sticks.
The Cardinals capitalized on the momentum from the goal-line stand, with a 21-yard reception to TE Elijah Higgins on 3rd and 3 and then another big completion to TE Trey McBride for 17 yards to the Pittsburgh 27, with a 19-yard run by RB Michael Carter sandwiched in between. A 12-yard gain by McBride on 2nd and 17 moved Arizona to the Pittsburgh 22 after it got knocked back due to a holding on McBride, and on 3rd and 4, Murray went back to McBride for a 15-yard gain to the Pittsburgh 7. On the next play, Murray hit McBride for what appeared to be a seven-yard touchdown, but it was overruled upon review. On 3rd and goal though, Murray went back to McBride for a touchdown anyway. It was a 15-play, 99-yard drive by Arizona to take the lead over Pittsburgh.
The Steelers would kneel to send the game to halftime after they got the ball back, and the game was 10-3 at the half.
The Cardinals got the ball to start the second half, and they went three-and-out. The Steelers got the ball back at their own 7 and converted a 3rd-and-9 completion to TE Pat Freiermuth. Disaster struck later in the drive. Another bad snap was bobbled and fumbled by QB Mitch Trubisky, playing for the injured Pickett, and the Cardinals recovered and took over at the Steelers’ 21.Â
On 3rd and goal from the Pittsburgh 8, CB Joey Porter Jr. was flagged for defensive pass interference against WR Greg Dortch in the end zone, and the Cardinals took over at the Pittsburgh 1. Two plays later, RB James Conner ran for a touchdown and the Cardinals took a 17-3 lead with 7:18 left in the third quarter. The game then entered a weather delay.
Following the weather delay, Pittsburgh took over at its own 25. They picked up back-to-back first downs on a completion to TE Pat Freiermuth and then a run by Harris. Following an incompletion, a short run and a false start, the Steelers had a 3rd and 14 but picked it up on a 25-yard gain by Pickens on a pass by Trubisky. But the Steelers got into a 3rd and 6 on their own 27 and then Trubisky missed TE Connor Heyward down the middle of the field. Boswell came out and missed from 45 yards, and the Cardinals held onto a 17-3 lead with 3:20 left in the third quarter.
On 3rd and 12 from the Arizona 43 on their next drive, Murray hit Dortch for a 19-yard gain to the Pittsburgh 38. They would end up punting and Gillikin’s punt was downed inside the 5. Pittsburgh went three-and-out, the Cardinals got the ball at the Pittsburgh 33 and quickly put together a touchdown drive, with a nine-yard touchdown run by James Conner. Arizona took a 24-3 lead with 8:28 left in the game.
The Steelers were able to respond and put together a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. It was capped by a two-yard touchdown pass to WR Diontae Johnson, but the team still trailed 24-10 with 2:45 to go.
Arizona got the ball back and on its first play, Conner ran for 29 yards and a first down to the Pittsburgh 46. On 3rd and 6 later in the drive, Conner converted with a 10-yard run. Another first down run by Conner clinched the game, as he finished with 25 carries for 104 yards and two touchdowns in his return to Acrisure Stadium.
The loss drops the Steelers to 7-5. They will play the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football. The Cardinals improve to 3-10 with the win and will enjoy a bye week in Week 14.
