Photo: steelers.com
Steel City Underground continues its Steelers Offseason Recall series, revisiting key moments from the 2025 season and how they shaped the year that followed.
The Pittsburgh Steelers entered their Week 16 road matchup with the Detroit Lions as underdogs against one of the NFL’s most dangerous offenses. Pittsburgh had shown improvement in the previous two weeks, but a trip to Ford Field appeared to be one of the toughest tests remaining on the schedule.
Instead, the Steelers delivered one of their most complete and surprising performances of the season. Pittsburgh dominated on the ground, erased Detroit’s rushing attack and survived an unbelievable final sequence to escape with a 29-24 victory that kept its AFC North hopes alive.
The biggest surprise was how thoroughly Pittsburgh flipped expectations in the running game. Detroit entered the afternoon with the NFL’s fifth-ranked rushing attack, averaging 131 yards per game behind Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, while the Steelers had struggled against the run for much of the season.
Pittsburgh responded by holding the Lions to an astonishing 15 rushing yards.
Gibbs managed only two yards on seven carries, while Montgomery finished with 14 yards on four attempts. It was a remarkable turnaround for a Steelers defense that had recently surrendered more than 200 rushing yards to both Baltimore and Buffalo.
Meanwhile, Jaylen Warren enjoyed one of the best performances of his season. Warren broke loose for two 45-yard touchdown runs and finished with 143 yards on only 14 carries, giving Pittsburgh the explosive rushing attack it had often lacked.
Putting the pedal to the metal 🙌 @Nunless2
📺: #PITvsDET on @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/hvEc4ZI47T
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 21, 2025
Kenneth Gainwell added another 50 yards rushing and 78 receiving, including a spectacular 45-yard touchdown reception. Pittsburgh’s ability to control the football also kept Detroit’s offense on the sideline, as the Lions had only one possession during the third quarter.
Pittsburgh’s rushing success was even more impressive considering the injuries along its offensive line. With Broderick Jones and Andrus Peat unavailable, Dylan Cook was forced into the lineup at left tackle after spending much of his Steelers career bouncing between the active roster and practice squad.
Cook faced a difficult assignment against Aidan Hutchinson, who still recorded two sacks, but the replacement tackle held his own and helped Pittsburgh produce one of its best rushing performances of the year. Spencer Anderson also filled in at left guard, giving the Steelers an unlikely combination protecting Aaron Rodgers‘ blind side.
Rodgers leaned on his experience as well, distributing the football to ten different teammates rather than forcing passes toward one receiver. With injuries impacting the wide receiver room, players such as Pat Freiermuth, Scotty Miller and Gainwell helped keep the offense moving.
The veteran presence was equally important on defense. Cameron Heyward recorded a sack, two quarterback hits and a tackle for loss, Alex Highsmith added two tackles for loss and two quarterback hits, and Kyle Dugger produced a safety while leading Pittsburgh in tackles.
The Steelers had an opportunity to make the final minutes much easier. Leading 29-24, Pittsburgh drove into Chris Boswell‘s field goal range, where a successful kick would have created an eight-point advantage.
Instead, a low snap disrupted the 37-yard attempt and Boswell’s kick went wide right. Detroit received the football at its own 27-yard line with 2:05 remaining, setting up a final drive that became one of the wildest sequences of the NFL season.
Pittsburgh appeared to stop the Lions on fourth down early in the drive, but a pass interference penalty against Dugger kept Detroit alive. Highsmith then appeared to sack Jared Goff for a 10-yard loss, only for another penalty to erase the play and move the Lions farther downfield.
Detroit eventually reached Pittsburgh’s one-yard line and appeared to score the go-ahead touchdown, but offensive pass interference against Isaac TeSlaa wiped the play away. A false start pushed the Lions back again, eventually leading to fourth-and-goal from the nine-yard line with eight seconds remaining.
Goff completed a short pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who was stopped short of the goal line by Joey Porter Jr. St. Brown desperately lateraled the ball back to Goff, who carried it into the end zone as time expired, briefly creating confusion over whether Detroit had somehow won the game.
After a lengthy discussion, officials ruled that St. Brown had committed offensive pass interference before the catch. Because the offensive penalty occurred with no time remaining, there was no additional play and Pittsburgh’s 29-24 victory stood.
At the end of #PITvsDET, the ruling on the field was:
A completed catch, a backwards lateral, and a touchdown by Detroit. There was a flag thrown for offensive pass interference.
The clock was at 0:00 when the touchdown occurred and because the penalty was committed by the… pic.twitter.com/ynPWqFhxXr
— Gene Steratore (@GeneSteratore) December 22, 2025
The final play understandably became the lasting image from the game, but Pittsburgh’s performance was much bigger than one bizarre sequence. The Steelers held one of the NFL’s better rushing offenses to 15 yards, watched Warren explode for 143 yards and two touchdowns, and received important contributions from players filling unexpected roles.
The afternoon also included controversy surrounding D.K. Metcalf, who was caught on camera in an altercation with a fan and was later suspended for two games, ending his regular season. It added yet another strange storyline to an already unforgettable day in Detroit.
Most importantly, the victory kept Pittsburgh firmly in the AFC North race heading into its final two games against Cleveland and Baltimore. What looked like one of the toughest matchups on the Steelers’ remaining schedule instead became one of their signature wins of the 2025 season.
