Steelers fail to truly separate, but triumph over Cardinals
By Mike Morris
The Pittsburgh Steelers failed to truly separate from the Arizona Cardinals but did enough to come away from Glendale with a win in front of a strongly pro-Steelers crowd.
Not everything went right for the Steelers on Sunday, exemplified by a boneheaded fake punt and fumble with a ten-point lead that gave Arizona the ball at Pittsburgh’s 32, a play coach Mike Tomlin confirmed he personally called. However, I said this morning that containing Kyler Murray would be a key to victory, and the defense did that enough to leave with a win.
Murray ended the day 20-30 with 194 yards and two touchdowns and was sacked four times. He also threw three fortuitous interceptions that allowed Pittsburgh to keep themselves in the game.
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The first two were deep in Pittsburgh territory, as Joe Haden picked him off at the 23-yard line and T.J. Watt later did the same in the Steelers’ end zone. Haden snagged another Murray pass late in the fourth quarter to end the game.
On offense, Diontae Johnson was an absolute star and the unit’s standout player. He was the black and gold’s leading receiver. While 6 receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown does not look particularly impressive on paper, Johson showed an impressive knack for the big play against Arizona.
With 3:48 left in the third and Pittsburgh driving at the Cardinals’ 16, Johnson reversed course after running into defensive traffic, expanding the play to the other side of the field and gaining 14 yards. He’d eventually haul in the touchdown pass from Devlin Hodges on the drive to compliment his 85-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first half.
The win keeps Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes in good health, and the team got a little bit of help from their old friends the Baltimore Ravens. In the spirit of holiday giving, Pittsburgh’s hated rivals beat the Bills 24-17 at home, setting the stage for Mike Tomlin’s team to seize control of the top wildcard spot when they host Buffalo next Sunday night.
dark. Next. Steelers hold the Cardinals for their 8th win of the season
Elsewhere, the Tennessee Titans, directly below Pittsburgh in wildcard contention, improved to 8-5 after their 42-21 win over the Raiders.
The Steelers played well enough to beat the sub-.500 Cardinals team, but Arizona had nothing to play for. What we saw on Sunday won’t be good enough next week against a prospective playoff team like Buffalo.