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The 90 minutes that possibly saved the Steelers' season | TribLIVE.com
Steelers/NFL

The 90 minutes that possibly saved the Steelers' season

Chris Adamski
Chris Adamski
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Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger looks to throw to JuJu Smith-Shuster for what would end up being the game-winning touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game at Heinz Field. It capped what appeared to be an extremely unlikely comeback.

Staring at a seemingly almost-certain fourth consecutive loss, its offense appearing as impotent and predictable as ever, its defense suddenly powerless to stop the opponent and a fast-charging old rival licking its proverbial chops for the chance at them a week later, things looked about as bleak as can possibly be for what was still an 11-3 football team during the mid-afternoon hours Sunday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were trailing the Indianapolis Colts by double digits at Heinz Field while the Cleveland Browns had only a 1-13 opponent standing between it and a possible winner-take-all AFC North title showdown Jan. 3.

Punt after punt ended Steelers drives that were littered with negative rushing plays and short, quick passes that weren’t connecting. The Steelers of Sunday looked way too much like the ones that had lost to Washington, the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals the previous three weeks, the ones that had soured a historic 11-0 start.

But a funny thing happened over a span of less than an hour-and-a-half of real time Sunday. In something of a post-Christmas Pittsburgh miracle, the Steelers seemingly snapped back to it. They regained the form on both offense and defense that had them sitting pretty with the NFL’s best record through 12 weeks. A win that seemed unthinkable as of 3 p.m. was sewed up by 10 after 4. And so was the division title.

A real-time look back at the odd afternoon of football toward the end of this odd Steelers season on the final weekend of this extremely odd year:

1:02 pm: Kickoff at Heinz Field, Steelers take possession.

1:04 p.m.: After a listless three-and-out of three incompletions, the Steelers punt.

1:11 p.m.: Capping a nine-play drive, the Colts take a 7-0 lead on a Jonathan Taylor TD.

1:20 p.m.: Reliving a recent theme, another failed third-and-1 for the Steelers leads to another punt.

1:38 p.m.: Following another three-and-out by the offense, the defense makes a big play — a strip-sack that sets the Steelers up at the Indianapolis 3. It takes four plays, but the offense scratches and claws its way into the end zone to tie the game.

2:05 p.m.: A sequence of Steelers’ three-and-out, Colts touchdown, Steelers’ seven-and-out, Colts touchdown gave Indianapolis a 21- 7 lead.

2:11 p.m.: The Steelers take over at their own 9, with an ESPN calculated win probability for the game of 13.1%. To this point, their offense has netted 29 yards in five possessions, and their defense has allowed a net 206 yards and 21 points in five Colts possessions.

2:23 p.m.: Halftime at Heinz Field begins with the Steelers down two touchdowns and the Colts outgaining the Steelers, 217-93. The only good news is that the Browns also trail by double figures, 13-3, at halftime at MetLife Stadium in northern New Jersey.

2:44 p.m.: Indianapolis takes the second-half kickoff and effortlessly drives 68 yards inside the Steelers’ 10 yard-line. Their win probability is up to 94.4%. The Steelers’ losing streak, at this moment, seemed assured to endure on.

2:45 p.m.: The first signs of life, and in retrospect, a possible turning point? Stephon Tuitt sacks Philip Rivers, forcing the Colts to settle for a field goal. Still, it’s a 24-7 Indianapolis lead.

2:56 p.m.: The Steelers put together six plays for a drive in which Roethlisberger and the offense looked as good as they have in weeks, setting up a first-and-goal at the 1.

2:58 p.m.: A negative-gain carry by Benny Snell and three incomplete passes later, the Steelers turn the ball over on downs. Half-witted sportswriters have declared the game — and the season — over.

3:09 p.m.: The true turning point for the game, and perhaps the season. The defense dutifully forced a three-and-out by the pinned-back Colts, the punt-return unit sets the Steelers up inside the Indianapolis 40, Roethlisberger throws what was arguably his most accurate deep pass of the month, Diontae Johnson makes a pretty diving catch and the Steelers show life, pulling within 10.

3:25 p.m.: After the defense gets another quick stop, the offense benefits from a pair of pass interference flags to get set up at the Colts’ 5 for the first official play of the fourth quarter — a 5-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to Ebron that makes it 24-21.

3:35 p.m.: Things are getting interesting from two angles. The Browns have scored twice to pull within 20-16 of the Jets, and the Steelers’ defense makes another stop so that their suddenly-rolling offense can take over with a chance to take the lead. They’ll have to go 84 yards, though, to do it.

3:45 p.m.: Three consecutive completions and a 12-yard — gasp! — run by James Conner get the Steelers into Colts’ territory. Minutes later, Roethlisberger fires a well-placed bullet that JuJu Smith-Schuster corrals via a “combat catch” and — seemingly miraculously — the Steelers have taken the lead.

3:50 p.m.: Everything is backwards. Mike Hilton intercepts Rivers. Three-hundred fifty miles east, the Jets are driving to add a score (ultimately, a Sam Ficken field goal) that bumps their win probability over the Browns up over 90%. The Steelers are now deemed about a 3-to-1 bet to win their game. Put together, the Steelers all of a sudden are about a 97% lock to have the AFC North wrapped up before sunset.

4:08 p.m.: Some anxiety re-enters the picture for Steelers fans, as the Colts methodically move inside the Steelers’ 35 with a first down while the Browns are marching into Jets territory for a potential tying score.

4:10 p.m.: But the defense holds via a 2-yard pass and three consecutive incompletions, securing one of the more improbable comeback wins in Steelers recent history. For good measure, minutes later Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield fumbles on fourth down at the Jets’ 16, clinching the New York win and putting the Browns’ playoff hopes in peril not long after they appeared in a good position to steal the division title.

4:31 p.m.: T.J. Watt posts a photo to Twitter of the Steelers in “hats and t-shirts” honoring their status as division champions. Smith-Schuster posts a video to TikTok of a celebratory dance from the locker room. Over a span of about 90 minutes, in the minds of many the Steelers went from left-for-dead to very much alive for a postseason run.

Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.

Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.

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