Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin has relied all season upon a "mentality" embraced by Steelers' defenders to rise up and finish at "crunch time" when necessary.
"Our guys, they don't fear those situations," Austin has maintained.
Even when the other team gets to the 1-yard line, apparently.
"It doesn't matter where you stop 'em, just that you stop 'em," Austin insisted today.
The Lions reached the Steelers' 1 with 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter and a timeout still at their disposal while trailing 29-24 last Sunday in Detroit.
It was chaos after that, but the Steelers held. The closing sequence commenced with a penalty for offensive pass interference on first-and-goal from the 1 that negated what would have been the go-ahead touchdown. It continued with a false start on first-and-goal from the 11, a completion limited to 7 yards on first-and-goal from the 16 and incompletions on second-and-goal and third-and-goal from the 9, the latter thanks to a play made by safety Chuck Clark to deny wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa in the end zone. It finally culminated in another offensive pass interference penalty that negated what would have been the game-winning touchdown on the game's final play.
"I applaud the guys," Austin said today. "It was a challenging situation and they made the plays they needed to make to win.
"I thought the game was over a few plays ago on the fourth down (an incompletion on fourth-and-2 from the Detroit 35 with 1:30 remaining on which safety Keyle Dugger was called for pass interference). They called a 'PI' so it kept it going. They stood up again.
"I'm proud of what they did. I'm sure they're excited about it. They were up to it."
The "save" against the Lions was the fifth in six such situations for the Steelers' defense this season.
In the regular-season-opener on Sept. 7 in New Jersey, the Jets took possession at their 31 with 56 seconds remaining needing a field goal to win. They gained 7 yards on four snaps before turning the ball back over to the Steelers for a game-ending kneel down.
On Sept. 21 at New England, the Patriots drove from their 26 to the Steelers' 28 in search of the game-tying touchdown on a possession that commenced with 2:11 left in regulation. The march was halted on a fourth-and-1 stop on a completion that lost 1 yard with 1:03 remaining.
On Sept. 28 in Dublin, the Vikings took over at their 20 with 1:02 left in the fourth quarter needing a touchdown to win. They got as far as the Minnesota 39 but went backwards from there before the possession ended with eight seconds left.
And on Dec. 7 in Baltimore, the Ravens were 74 yards away from the game-winning touchdown with 1:56 left in the fourth quarter but could get no farther than the Steelers' 30 before outside linebacker Alex Highsmith's sack of quarterback Lamar Jackson ended the game.
The lone time the defense was asked to finish but didn't was on Oct. 16 in Cincinnati. That was the night the Steelers grabbed a 31-30 lead on a 68-yard catch-and-run touchdown from quarterback Aaron Rodgers to tight end Pat Freiermuth and kicker Chris Boswell's extra point with 2:07 left in the fourth quarter and the Bengals countered with an eight-play, 52-yard drive for the game-winning field goal with seven seconds to play.
The offense will be without wide receiver DK Metcalf this Sunday at Cleveland and in the regular-season finale against the Ravens in the wake of the NFL's two-game suspension of Metcalf.
Metcalf leads the Steelers with 850 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns and is second with 59 catches.
"Any time you lose a starter for whatever reason, you adapt, that's your job," offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said. "You see it, unfortunately, week to week. That;'s why it's so important, we have plenty of examples of guys stepping up in game or throughout the week.
"(Offensive tackle) Dylan (Cook) is a good example. We have a lot of guys who have done that."
Head coach Mike Tomlin mentioned a potential opportunity for wide receiver Roman Wilson, who hasn't been active for the past three games, to "display growth" in Metcalf's absence.
The Steelers might also opt to lean even more heavily on what has become the most productive tandem at running back in the NFL.
Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell are the only two running backs playing for the same team to have each surpassed 900 yards from scrimmage this season. Warren has 1,128 (828 rushing, 300 receiving) and Gainwell 911 (501 rushing, 410 receiving). They combined for 279 of the Steelers' season-high 481 total net yards and all three of the Steelers' touchdowns in Detroit.
"It just kind of evolved," Smith said of what has become a potent one-two punch. "There are things you see on film, and then you work with them.
"There's a lot of trust in both of those players."
