Turnover helps Steelers to overtime win vs. Seahawks

Mike Tomlin didn’t want the Pittsburgh Steelers to disappoint the franchise’s four newest Hall of Fame members who were honored during a prime-time showcase Sunday night at Heinz Field.

The Steelers complied, even though they blew a 14-point second-half lead, watched a frenetic final seconds result in a tying field goal and needed a turnover by T.J. Watt in overtime to escape with a 23-20 victory against the Seattle Seahawks.

Watt’s strip sack of Geno Smith set up Chris Boswell’s 37-yard field goal with 2 minutes, 50 seconds left in overtime that lifted the Steelers to their second consecutive win. They will take a 3-3 record into their bye week.

The topsy turvy game was witnessed by Troy Polamalu, Alan Faneca, Donnie Shell and Bill Cowher, who received their Pro Football Hall of Fame rings during a halftime ceremony.

“It’s an honor to perform for those guys and put together a winning performance,” Tomlin said. “We got so much respect for the standards set by those who came before us. We don’t run away from it. We run to it. We embrace it, and it was great to have a really competitive team victory with those men in attendance.”

The Steelers blew 14-0 and 17-7 leads in the second half, but got a 52-yard field goal from Boswell with 1:30 left to regain the advantage. But the Seahawks, with Smith subbing for injured star quarterback Russell Wilson, countered with Jason Myers’ 43-yarder on the final play of regulation.

Seattle won the coin toss, but a Watt sack on third down near midfield forced a punt. The Steelers punted on fourth-and-1 from their 29, and Seattle took over at their 15 with 4:27 left in the extra session.

On first down, Smith tried to run up the middle, and Watt swatted the ball out of his grasp. Devin Bush recovered and after initially breaking in the wrong direction, was brought down at the 16. On third down, Boswell split the uprights with his third field goal of the game.

The Steelers rushed the field in celebration knowing that they were fortunate to win considering the way the game turned against them in the second half.

“We got to our goal which was to get to .500 before the bye,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “We’ll try to get healthy and get ready for a long stretch.”

Behind Smith, the former West Virginia quarterback, and a running game that was an afterthought in the first half, Seattle scored on three consecutive drives to open the second half and tied the score 17-17 with 12:59 left in the fourth.

Seattle called four running plays in the first half, but relied heavily on Alex Collins to get back into the game after intermission. Collins finished with 101 yards rushing on 20 carries and scored on a 2-yard run on Seattle’s opening possession of the third quarter. The Seahawks finished with 144 rushing yards on 27 attempts, and they totaled 309 overall after having 65 at halftime.

“The front seven, and that includes me, has to be better,” defensive captain Cameron Heyward said. “We fell short a couple time in our plays. All it takes is one guy not doing his job. In this defense, everybody has to do their job. Everybody has to be accountable. When we do that, we’re stout and control the line of scrimmage. When we don’t, we create doubt.”

Boswell’s 27-yard field goal pushed the Steelers’ lead to 17-7, but Seattle took advantage of numerous missed tackles by the Steelers defense to get another touchdown in the third. Gerald Everett’s 41-yard catch set up Will Dissley’s 1-yard touchdown catch.

Myers kicked a 40-yard field goal on Seattle’s next possession to tie it 17-17 with 12:59 left in the fourth. It wasn’t the way the Steelers anticipated the second half going considering the celebration that took place during intermission.

Roethlisberger, who completed 29 of 40 passes for 229 yards and a touchdown, said the Steelers didn’t fear the worst.

“We don’t think about losing,” Roethlisberger said. “We were just disappointed we didn’t finish it in regulation when we had the chance.”

Boswell’s 52-yard kick restored the Steelers’ lead, but the Seahawks got into position to tie the score again after officials intervened with three seconds left. A pass to D.K. Metcalf along the left sideline gained 12 yards to the Steelers’ 23, but he fumbled the ball, and Smith had to hurriedly spike the ball to give Myers a chance to tie the score.

Tomlin was livid that officials stopped play to debate whether the ball was caught.

“It was an embarrassment,” he said.

A defense that bled so many yards in the second half regrouped in the extra session, first with Watt’s 13-yard sack for a loss on a drive that reached the Steelers’ 45, and again when the Seahawks got the ball back one more time.

“We love playing defense in a situation like that, and I’m glad we were able to close the game out for our team,” Watt said. “It was a resilient performance for us.”