Tyson Alualu sacks Matthew Stafford in the third quarter of Sunday's win in Detroit.(http://www.steelers.com/photos/)
DETROIT -- Don't steal JuJu's bike.
Backed up at their own 3, dared to do something after the Detroit Lions went for it on fourth-and-goal at the 1, the Pittsburgh Steelers erased nearly three quarters of missed opportunities with one perfect play up the middle.
Ben Roethlisberger squeezed a pass between the corner and safety and into the hands of JuJu Smith-Schuster, whose 97-yard touchdown completed the cycle for the Steelers' first half of the season after a 20-15 victory over the Detroit Lions.
Three stout goal-line stops in the second half sealed the game for a Pittsburgh defense with a little too much bend after Matthew Stafford threw for 423 yards.
After all, Pittsburgh (6-2) had shown almost everything this year, winning games with toughness, timely defense, and Le'Veon Bell in the running game. The Steelers' three goal-line stops flustered Stafford despite all those passing yards.
But this was the final piece -- the dagger play for a huge score when the team absolutely needed it.
With a rookie who wants to make the play.
"It's primetime, it's 8:30, everyone's watching," said Smith-Schuster of the touchdown with 3:15 left in the third. "Those huge catches get you in a rhythm and we were able to get it done."
To punctuate his 193-yard breakout performance, Smith-Schuster -- who famously documented the stealing of his bicycle during the week on social media -- sealed the game by connecting with Roethlisberger on a shovel pass play on third-and-1 with less than 1:29 left.
For a quarterback who started the year 2-of-19 on passes longer than 30 yards, Roethlisberger (17-of-31, 317 yards) finally got that touchdown bomb that loosens up the offense. He had missed a few throws Sunday at Ford Field, but big plays can offset woes in a matter of seconds. With Martavis Bryant on the sidelines and wanting a trade, Antonio Brown seeing an opposing safety help cover him all day and Le'Veon Bell contained (25 carries, 76 yards), Smith-Schuster backed up his desire for more fantasy football plays during the week.
The defense did the rest.
Some defenses don't get more than three goal-line stops in a season. But the Steelers have a knack for it, and it has catapulted them to two straight road wins. The Lions had first-and-goal from the 4 twice and managed three points. And on the final series, fourth-and-goal from the 8, linebacker Ryan Shazier nearly had an interception on the turnover of downs.
Linebacker Vince Williams, who had eight tackles, said coach Mike Tomlin challenged the defense during the week, telling players their red zone defense "sucked."
Instead of pouting, the defense took their problems out on Detroit.
"I felt like they were trying us. It's disrespectful," said Williams about the Lions' fourth-down tries at the goal. "(Matt) Prater's a great kicker. You better run him out here or ya'll aren't about to get any points."
The Steelers' defense let the Lions move the ball downfield thanks to some missed tackles and receivers running down the sideline. Facing a true, high-level pocket passer for one of the first times this year, the Steelers appeared to miss some assignments and struggled to get quarterback pressure. But third-down defense was good enough to overcome those problems, holding the Lions to 2-of-12 on the crucial down.
The goal line stop with 4:47 left in the third quarter was especially stout. Several front-seven players blew up a running play on third down, and on fourth the Steelers smartly matched up three defenders with two wideouts to take away the look Matthew Stafford wanted, resulting in a Tyson Alualu Sack.
Overall, the game felt chaotic and rushed with each team struggling to take ownership of it. Take out the 97-yarder and the missed chances were plentiful. Three drives of 50-plus yards resulted in 10 first-half points, with Eli Rogers dropping a sure touchdown and Roethlisberger overthrowing a wide-open Darrius Heyward-Bey.
Great red-zone defense and one JuJu bomb erased mistakes and set the 6-2 Steelers off into the bye.
Not playing great and winning is a powerful thing, and the Steelers are perfecting it.
"Offensively at least, that kinda feels like it's been the story of our season so far," Roethlisberger said. "Going to the bye at 6-2 feels really good. It can be frustrating at times offensively because we're not executing the way we want to, but we're finding ways to win football games."
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