The Pittsburgh Steelers gained 202 yards on the ground and were able to beat the Seattle Seahawks, 30-23, Sunday at Lumen Field to move to 9-7 and keep their playoff hopes alive.
Seattle won the coin toss and deferred, so they would start on defense. The opening kickoff was a touchback, so QB Mason Rudolph and the Steelers offense would start at their own 25. On 3rd and 5, Rudolph hit WR Diontae Johnson for a 13-yard gain to their own 43, and the Steelers moved into Seattle territory on the next play following an 11-yard gain by RB Jaylen Warren. The drive stalled at the Seattle 41, though, as the Steelers went for it on 4th and 5 and turned it over on downs after Rudolph was incomplete to WR George Pickens.
Pittsburgh was able to force a three-and-out, with the Seahawks failing to capitalize on the good field position. A Johnson reception on first down was initially ruled a fumble and a turnover but he was then ruled out of bounds when he fumbled, so it turned into a 16-yard gain for the Steelers. On 3rd and 1 from the Pittsburgh 45 a few plays later, Rudolph converted on a QB sneak, but the next 3rd and 1 Rudolph failed to pick up the first down, and the Steelers once again went for it on fourth down.
On 4th and 1, Rudolph did convert the QB sneak, and on first down, RB Najee Harris ran for a gain of eight to the Seattle 44, and then he picked up a first down on a five-yard carry on 2nd and short. A 10-yard completion to WR George Pickens later in the drive picked up a first down and put the Steelers in the red zone. Two plays later, Warren found the end zone with an 18-yard touchdown run. Following K Chris Boswell’s extra point, the Steelers took a 7-0 lead with 1:47 left in the first quarter.
Seattle got its initial first down of the game on a seven-yard completion to TE Noah Fant on 3rd and 3 on the next drive, and on the first play of the second quarter, QB Geno Smith avoided a sack and hit WR DK Metcalf deep for a 33-yard gain to the Pittsburgh 24. That was followed by an 11-yard by RB Kenneth Walker III, and Walker finished the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run on the next play. K Jason Myers tied the game with the extra point, and with 13:50 left in the second quarter things were all square at 7-7.
Warren started Pittsburgh’s third drive of the game off on a good note with a 23-yard carry, and then Rudolph went deep to Pickens for a gain of 37, and Pickens fumbled out of bounds. Pittsburgh had the ball at the Seattle 15, but the Steelers would have to settle for three after Rudolph was sacked by DL Leonard Williams on third down. Boswell hit from 39 yards out, and the Steelers took a 10-7 lead with 10:27 left in the first half.
Seattle’s offense got right to work with an 11-yard completion to Walker on first down and then a 21-yard completion to Fant down to the Pittsburgh 43. Another first down run by Walker was followed by a 21-yard completion to Metcalf to the Pittsburgh 11, and the drive ended with a 12-yard touchdown pass by Smith to WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba. With 5:30 left in the first half, the Seahawks took a 14-10 lead following Myers’ extra point.
On 3rd and 4 from the Pittsburgh 31, Rudolph went to TE Pat Freiermuth, who was able to turn upfield for a 25-yard gain. On the next play, Harris ran for 23 yards down the Seattle 21, and the Steelers offense was officially in business. On 3rd and 4 later in the drive, the Steelers converted on a five-yard completion to Johnson, and two plays after that Harris ran for a nine-yard touchdown. After Boswell’s extra point, the Steelers led 17-14 with 1:36 left in the first half.
Seattle went three-and-out and punted back to the Steelers with 45 seconds left, but Pittsburgh couldn’t do anything with the ball and the game would go into the half with Pittsburgh leading 17-14.
Seattle got the ball to start the second half, and after a four-yard completion to WR Jake Bobo, and then Smith hit TE Colby Parkinson for a 20-yard gain. On 3rd and 4 from the Pittsburgh 24, Smith was incomplete to WR Tyler Lockett, and Seattle tied the game at 17-17 on a 43-yard field goal by Myers with 10:47 left in the third quarter.
After a false start before Pittsburgh’s first play of its drive, Rudolph went to Freiermuth for a 14-yard gain to make it 2nd and 1, and Harris would pick up a first down. Back-to-back runs were good enough for another first down, and then Rudolph took another deep shot and hit a wide-open Johnson off play-action. He was able to turn upfield and pick up some extra yards for a 42-yard gain to the Seattle 4. Harris then got pushed into the end zone by his teammates after getting stopped right at the line of scrimmage and the Steelers took a 24-17 lead after Boswell’s extra point with 6:57 left.
Seattle went three-and-out on their next drive, and the Steelers would have a golden opportunity to take a two-score lead, with Pittsburgh’s drive starting at their own 21. On second down, Warren had a 10-yard reception for a first down, but on 2nd and 9 two plays later, CB Devon Witherspoon made a big play, blowing up a run to Warren for a loss of five, and the Steelers would end up needing to punt after Rudolph’s third-down completion was short of the marker. P Pressley Harvin III’s punt traveled 46 yards to the Seattle 14, where it was fair caught.
On 2nd down, Smith hit Metcalf on a slant and it turned into a 32-yard gain, and Metcalf followed it up with a 25-yard gain on a scramble that moved Seattle to the Pittsburgh 29. Smith’s longest run of the season would end the third quarter. But the Seahawks went backward to start the fourth quarter and would face a 3rd and 12, and Smith’s pass to RB Zack Charbonnet was short of the sticks. Myers would hit a 42-yard field goal and Pittsburgh’s lead was cut to 24-20 with 13:30 left in the game.
Harris ran for 13 yards total on the first two plays of Pittsburgh’s drive, giving the Steelers a new set of downs. The Steelers faced a 3rd and 7 after OLB Boye Mafe deflected a Rudolph pass intended for Freiermuth, but on third down, Rudolph threw a beautifully placed ball to Pickens for a gain of 34 to the Seattle 22. That was followed by a seven-yard run by Warren, and the Steelers would go for it on 4th and inches from the Seattle 13 after a four-yard completion to Warren on 3rd and 5.
Rudolph would pick up the first down on a sneak. But the Steelers would still end up settling for a field goal after a 3rd and 12 pass to Warren gained just five yards. Boswell hit from 26 yards, and the Steelers took a 27-20 lead with 7:07 left in the game.
The Seahawks would begin their next drive at their own 25, but on the first play of the drive, Smith was strip-sacked by rookie OLB Nick Herbig, and Herbig fell on it for a Steelers recovery. The Steelers would take over at the Seattle 16. On 2nd and 9, Pickens gained 10 yards on a tap pass, and the Steelers had a 1st and goal from the Seattle five-yard line. Pittsburgh would end up settling for three though, and Boswell made it a two-score lead with a 21-yard field goal to put Pittsburgh up 30-20 with 4:31 left.
Seattle picked up 15 yards on a completion to Metcalf on the first play of its next drive with just over four minutes to go, and two plays later Smith would go to Charbonnet for a gain of 15 and another first down. On 2nd and 12 following a false start, Smith hit Lockett for 10 yards, and had an 18-yard gain to Colby Parkinson moved Seattle to the Pittsburgh 5. But Smith threw three straight incompletions, and Seattle would settle for three. Myers hit from 24 yards with 2:01 left, and the Seahawks would then attempt an onside kick.
The Steelers recovered the onside kick, and after the two-minute warning, Seattle would have two timeouts, but on first down, Rudolph threw to Pickens for a 24-yard gain to the Seattle 20. Pittsburgh would end up running the clock out to secure a 30-23 win.
The win moved the Steelers to 9-7 on the season.
