Fortunes pivoted on 5 plays
Season-changers took many forms
In the moments after a season that slowly morphed from promising to maddening to disappointing, Ben Roethlisberger was asked which games he will remember the most. The question was not intended to elicit a positive response.
And it didn’t. He mentioned two — the overtime tie in Cleveland in the season opener and the 2417 loss in Denver — as the ones that stick out the most. He didn’t say specifically why they were the most bothersome, but it’s likely because those outcomes were decided, in part, because of turnovers he committed in the final minutes.
The most damaging of the two was the third-down interception Roethlisberger threw in the end zone from the Broncos 2 with 63 seconds remaining. That was one of three turnovers the Steelers committed in or near the red zone in Denver, but it wasn’t even the most costly.
That occurred earlier in the game, a unpardonable turnover by a third-team tight end that makes this list as one of the top five plays that sent the Steelers’ 9-6-1 season on a downward turn.
Here they are:
5. Ramon Foster’s holding penalty at the start of the third quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Foster had not had a penalty called against him all season, but this one was not only a game-changer, it was also highly suspect because it came away from the play.
The Steelers had taken a 23-7 lead with a touchdown with 17 seconds remaining in the first half and got the kickoff to start the second half. On second-and-4 from the Chargers 48, James Conner ran 22 yards to the 26, putting the Steelers in good position for another score and a possible 23-point lead — one too big for the Chargers to overcome.
As it were, the penalty wiped out the gain, and the Steelers punted three plays later. And, well, you know the rest. It was the largest lead surrendered at home in the history of the franchise.
4. Seth Roberts’ 39-yard catch between two Steelers defenders in Oakland.
Roethlisberger had just come back into the game after a rib injury and quickly led the Steelers on a six-play, 75yard drive to regain the lead, 21-17, with 2:55 remaining.
But on first-and-10 from the Steelers 46, Roberts caught a deep pass from quarterback Derek Carr in the middle of the field that somehow made it through the arms of Terrell Edmunds and Morgan Burnett with 76 seconds remaining.
The Raiders took four plays from the 7 before scoring the winning touchdown with 21 seconds remaining.
3. Xavier Grimble’s fumble at the goal line in Denver.
The Steelers ran up 527 yards, 25 first downs and possessed the ball for 35 minutes against the Broncos but committed three turnovers in or near the red zone, including two at the goal line.
The worst and certainly the most avoidable, occurred at the start of the second quarter on third-and-12 from the Denver 24 when Grimble caught a short pass and looked to have an unfettered route to an easy touchdown.
But instead of cutting inside safety Will Parks at the 1 for an easy touchdown, he inexplicably tried to run over the 192-pound safety, lost the collision and lost the ball through the end zone for a touchback.
2. Joe Haden’s debatable pass interference penalty in New Orleans.
With two minutes remaining and protecting a 2824 lead against the team with the league’s best record, Haden appeared to break up a pass to wide receiver Michael Thomas on fourth-and2 that would have given the Steelers a 28-24 victory and all but ensured them the division title.
Instead, he was called for interference, a penalty that incensed Haden and the Steelers bench because whatever little contact occurred, if any, came in the allowable 5-yard contact zone.
The Saints scored the winning touchdown five plays later to knock the Steelers from the AFC North lead for the first time in nine weeks. And, as it turned out, out of the postseason.
1. James Conner’s fumble in Cleveland.
Starting his first game for Le’Veon Bell, who failed to show up for the season opener and never returned, Conner ran for 135 yards and two touchdowns and caught five passes for 57 yards in a brilliant debut.
But with 7:44 remaining and leading, 21-7, Conner fumbled at his 18 after being stripped by defensive end Myles Garrett. That set up a 1-yard touchdown one play later, starting the Browns back from a 14-point deficit that would end in a 21-21 tie that felt like a loss for the Steelers.
Even though it happened in the opener, Conner’s illtimed fumble encapsulated everything that went wrong for the Steelers in 2018 — a season in which they found many ways to lose games.
Make no mistake, this list could have included five to 10 more plays, even several more from the losses to the Broncos and Chargers. But when trying to identify key moments in a season that went from promising to disappointing, those five were as much responsible for the downturn as any.