Two weeks ago, the Buffalo Bills shook the Steelers to their core with a three-touchdown eruption in an 8:50 span.
The Steelers returned that eruption Sunday with their own three-TD rally to shock the Indianapolis Colts, 28-24, and in the process may have recovered their mojo with the playoffs looming in two weeks.
"Really proud of every man in the locker room regardless of role," said Mike Tomlin. "It took everyone today. Just loved the fight of the group. Was very necessary, man. Victory is sweet."
The Steelers won't get that bye for which they seemed so destined at 11-0, but at 12-3, with the AFC North Division championship in hand, the Steelers can rest players this practice week and Sunday in Cleveland, where they'll play a game that won't be nearly as important as it would've been had the Steelers not rallied Sunday to beat the Colts.
It was a stunning turn of events for fans who may have turned off their TVs, or even taken a nap after the Colts kicked a field goal to take a 24-7 lead with 9:23 left in the third quarter.
"There was no energy there. Everyone was pretty much just going with the flow," said JuJu Smith-Schuster. "Came back at halftime. Ben (Roethlisberger) talked. (Maurkice) Pouncey said a few words and pretty much sparked us. The defense started off and Ben’s just doing no-huddle just calling plays and we got the job done. So, it’s more about having the energy and going back to having fun."
If fans didn't turn off the TV after the Colts' field goal, perhaps they did after the Steelers failed to score after first-and-goal at the Indianapolis 1.
The only run they attempted at the goal line resulted in a loss, and left the Steelers with only 5 yards rushing as their offense returned to the field with 3:53 left in the third quarter.
That's when fun happened.
On the first play from the Indianapolis 39, Roethlisberger rediscovered the touch on his deep ball. Diontae Johnson ran past cornerback Rock Ya-Sin and Roethlisberger threw a perfect pass for which Johnson leaped and caught as he crossed the goal line. The sudden strike cut the deficit to 24-14 with 3:16 remaining.
"I figured Diontae was going to be one-on-one, so let's go over the top," said Roethlisberger. "I had to put enough air on it, he ran under it, made a spectacular catch, showed why football is so special."
The Colts went three and out, and a 24-yard defensive pass interference call against the Colts, on another pass to Johnson, put the Steelers at the 50. It was followed by a 13-yard pass to James Washington and a 10-yard run by James Conner. Another DPI on a 21-yard pass to Johnson put the Steelers at the Indy 5, from where tight end Eric Ebron caught a 5-yard touchdown pass, and suddenly the Steelers were within 24-21 with 14:52 remaining.
Cam Heyward's third-down sack of Philip Rivers precipitated the Steelers regaining possession at their 16, from where Roethlisberger drove for the go-ahead touchdown, a 25-yard strike to Smith-Schuster in the end zone.
Roethlisberger fake-pumped to freeze the safeties and gave Smith-Schuster the one step he needed to make the combat catch in the end zone with 7:38 remaining.
"We had a look," Roethlisberger said. "I don't know how to best describe it. It worked. JuJu made a heck of a catch. Great route to hold the safety down. I just saw the replay of it. What a play, strong catch by JuJu."
The three touchdowns in 10:38 were followed by an interception by Mike Hilton and the Steelers held on for the win, perhaps their most important of a roller coaster ride of a season.
"It's been a month or so for us, so we've been through some adversity," said Tomlin. "Hopefully these negative experiences can galvanize us, man, and strengthen us as we move forward. We have some big battles that lie ahead, but today we're humbled and honored to be AFC North champs."
The Steelers looked exactly like the team that had lost three in a row to open the game. Receivers dropped three poorly thrown slants on the opening series and punted to the Colts, who easily marched 70 yards for a touchdown on their first possession.
The Steelers seemed to be outclassed, but they struck suddenly. A blitz by Hilton forced Rivers to slide left and T.J. Watt hacked his arm to cause a fumble. Hilton scooped it up at the Indianapolis 16 and returned it to the 3. On third down, Conner ran a yard up the middle for the tying touchdown with 13:47 left in the first half.
But the Colts answered with an 85-yard touchdown drive capped by Jonathan Taylor's 1-yard touchdown run for a 14-7 lead with 6:35 left in the half.
Another Steelers three-and-out was followed by another Colts touchdown, this time a two-play drive punctuated by a blitz pick-up and 42-yard touchdown pass from Rivers to Zach Pascal over Joe Haden.
It gave the Colts a 21-7 lead with 4:02 left in a half in which the Steelers had only 2 first downs to the Colts' 13; 28 total yards to the Colts' 206; and 4 rushing yards to the Colts' 66.
The Steelers did gain a few more yards to finish the half with 5 first downs, 73 yards and the 4 rushing yards, but the second half was a different story.
Does it also paint a different story for how the Steelers will approach the now meaningless regular-season finale in Cleveland?
Will they now take the "bye week" that was stolen from them due to the pandemic?
"We'll ponder those possibilities in the morning," said a beaming Tomlin. "Tonight, we're going to wear our hats and T-shirts."
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December 28, 2020 at 08:46AM
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Sweet comeback victory for Steelers - 247Sports
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