It looked pretty darn good for about three quarters, but then in the fourth quarter the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense got tired and fell apart a bit, allowing the Minnesota Vikings back into the game.
Fortunately, Pittsburgh was able to close out the game late after a key intentional grounding penalty on Carson Wentz, forced by a great pass rush from Nick Herbig, preceded safety DeShon Elliott knocking down the fourth-down pass and sealing the win.
The Steelers held the Vikings to just 4-of-14 on third downs in the game, forced two turnovers and pressured Wentz time and time again.
And yet, the Vikings were able to get back into the game and had the ball with more than a minute remaining and only needing to get into field goal position to send the game to overtime.
For Elliott the crowd noise at the end of the game was huge, but the Steelers defense has to learn how to finish games, especially when up big like they were throughout the second half.
“We can’t have busted plays like that at the end,” Elliott said after the Steelers’ 24-21 win, according to video via Steelers.com. “We had ’em, what, 14 to six at halftime? They could be about 15 points in the second half. That’s not Steeler football. All we can do is get better, communicate better, but we’ll be alright.
“I think we’re going in the right direction. We just gotta keep stacking those days.”
Elliott returned to action after missing the past two games due to a knee injury suffered in the season opener. He initially thought the injury was severe enough to end his season, but he was fortunate to missed just two games.
His made his presence felt immediately with an interception in the first half. He was also an effective blitzer, forcing a Wentz fumble too.
The Steelers really turned up the heat against the Vikings and gave a short-handed offensive line fits. But in the second half the Steelers started to struggle with some injuries of their own in the secondary, allowing the Vikings to get back into the game.
One play after Brandin Echols went down with cramps, the Vikings hit a huge 81-yard strike from Wentz to Jordan Addison. Payton Wilson saved a touchdown with tremendous hustle, but the Vikings ultimately scored on the drive, making it a 24-21 game.
It was a mistake by veteran safety Chuck Clark and cornerback Darius Slay, neither of whom dropped into deep coverage, allowing Addison to run right past them.
But in the end the Steelers defense did finish. A great pass rush by Nick Herbig forced a key intentional grounding penalty and a 10-second runoff penalty, and then a delay of game helped, too. Ultimately, Elliott batted down the fourth-down pass to seal the win.
Now, the Steelers enter their bye week looking to get healthy and correct some communication issues. Doing so while riding high after an emotional win is huge.
