Best for last
Defense takes advantage of reversal
PITTSBURGH — The Patriots defense let a late win slip away against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Until it didn’t.
Two plays after an apparent touchdown by Steelers tight end Jesse James, which would have given Pittsburgh a 30-27 lead with 28 seconds remaining, was called an incomplete pass via replay review, safety Duron Harmon intercepted Ben Roethlisberger with 5 seconds left to seal a 27-24 comeback win yesterday at Heinz Field.
“It’s how it is when you’re playing against a good football team like that,” cornerback Stephon Gilmore said. “You have to stay positive and keep playing because they have good football players. We played until the end and that’s what it came down to.”
After Tom Brady orchestrated a five-play, 77-yard drive to take a 27-24 lead with 56 seconds remaining, the Patriots seemed to blow it in two plays. Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster went 69 yards on first down from the Pittsburgh 21 before Roethlisberger found James near the goal line for the short-lived score.
Following the crucial overturn, Roethlisberger hit Darrius Heyward-Bey for 3 yards on second down and then, with the clock running, Big Ben faked a spike and targeted Eli Rogers in the middle of the end zone. Eric Rowe deflected the ball into the air and Harmon grabbed it to seal the win.
“It was really a good job by Eric Rowe,” Harmon said. “He deflected the pass. I was just there to catch it.”
Before making that play, Rowe allowed Smith-Schuster to beat him on a crossing pattern for the 69-yard gain that gave the Steelers a first-and-goal from the Pats 10. After blaming himself for potentially losing the game, Rowe felt fortunate to have a chance to win it.
“I was really mad at myself for letting that happen,” Rowe said. “And then they scored and obviously made me feel bad. But it got overturned and I was like, ‘OK, just got to keep playing.’ One last play, I was blessed just to make the play.”
For the Patriots defense, the game was a roller coaster for more than just those last 56 seconds.
After allowing Roethlisberger to go 15-for-19 for 182 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, the defense held him to 99 yards, no touchdowns and one interception in the second. Part of that success after halftime stemmed from the Steelers relying on running back Le’Veon Bell, who had 67 rushing yards and a touchdown in the second half, and losing star receiver Antonio Brown to a calf injury early in the second quarter.
Still, with the Patriots trailing 2419, the defense forced a three-andout to give Brady and Co. the ball with 2:06 left and two timeouts. The Pats took the lead and Harmon came up with the clinching pick.
After playing five seasons for the Buffalo Bills, Gilmore said the game represented why he signed with the Patriots during the offseason.
“The emotions of these types of games are crazy. Crazy,” Gilmore said. “That was a great football team. They have great players. My hat’s off to them. But we played together as a team and we made the last play.”