There must be something about the Packers that makes the Steelers think shootout.
Or maybe it's just playing a football game in prime time.
Either way, the Steelers needed their offensive stars to shine brightly on this chilly night at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 351 yards and four touchdowns, though he also threw two interceptions to keep things interesting. And Le'Veon Bell had 95 yards rushing on 20 carries, while also adding 88 yards receiving on a season-high 12 catches. But he lost a fumble early in the fourth quarter -- also keeping things interesting.
But on a night when the Steelers honored their inaugural Hall of Honor class, all eyes were on the guy his teammates call Tony Toe Tap, otherwise known as Antonio Brown.
Brown lived up to his moniker, hauling in a 23-yard pass along the sideline in front of the Pittsburgh bench, then adding a 14-yarder seconds later to will the Steelers into field goal range for a game-winning 53-yard attempt that Chris Boswell drilled as time expired to put down Green Bay, 31-28, Sunday night at Heinz Field.
The outcome was stunning in that the Steelers, who improved to 9-2, were 14-point favorites over the Packers (5-6), who came into the game off their first shutout loss at home last week to Baltimore and with backup quarterback Brett Hundley starting in place of injured star Aaron Rodgers. But much like the previous three times these two cross conference teams have met -- twice in the regular season and once in the Super Bowl -- it seemingly doesn't matter who the quarterback is for the Packers, the game is going to be played in the 30s.
And the stars are going to matter.
Fortunately for the Steelers, their stars weren't standing on the sideline wearing jackets as was Rodgers, who continues to recover from a shoulder injury suffered a month ago that landed him on injured reserve.
And none were better than Brown, who finished with 169 yards and two touchdowns on 10 receptions, all but willing the Steelers to victory. Forget Facebook Live videos or sideline skirmishes with water coolers. When Brown does the kind of things he did in this game, he leaves even his teammates in awe.
"It’s too easy for him. He absolutely loves this kind of stuff, being able to make that kind of play," said Ramon Foster. "But he works at it. I’d like to say I’m still surprised, but I’ve seen it over and over again. I’m just glad he’s on our team. I’m glad he’s had to work from a sixth-round draft pick to where he is now. Whatever people say about him, what do you want as a fan?"
What indeed?
There were several plays to which Foster could have been referring. But the one in question came with the game tied at 28 and just 17 seconds remaining.
The Steelers took possession of the ball with just over two minutes remaining but had a drive stall when Roethlisberger, who had been brilliant to that point despite the two interceptions, missed on three consecutive passes from midfield to Martavis Bryant, Brown and Eli Rogers.
But Pittsburgh's defense got the ball back following a punt to the Green Bay 18. T.J. Watt recorded his fifth sack of the season for a 6-yard loss on first down and, despite having all three timeouts remaining, Mike Tomlin did not use one.
"I wanted to have the full field to work with," Tomlin said. "They had been playing us in a whole bunch of rolled-up coverages, protecting the sidelines."
Tomlin must have forgotten he has the best receiver in the league at corralling the ball along the sideline.
Green Bay rookie running back Jamaal Williams did the Steelers a favor on second down, running out of bounds with 39 seconds remaining after a three-yard gain, and, after a third-down run, Tomlin used his first timeout.
But the Steelers got the ball back with just 17 seconds on the clock at their own 30. Brown, working against double coverage, caught a perfect pass from Roethlisberger at the Green Bay 47, deftly getting both feet in bounds before being shoved out by safety Josh Jones.
Two officials converged on the play and after a brief discussion, ruled that he had gotten both feet down in bounds.
Not that his teammates had any doubt.
"No, not at all," Bell told me. "I saw it. Once he got the first foot down, I knew he drug the second foot. That’s Tony Toe Tap, man. He does that every day in practice. He practices it. You see him do it. He’s just the best in the world at what he does. There was no doubt in the world that was a catch."
Still, because it was close and within the final two minutes, the game was stopped while the play was reviewed.
"I knew I did everything on my fundamentals," said Brown. "I secured the ball to the ground. I knew it was a catch the whole time."
Even with that catch, the Steelers still needed another 15 or so yards to get them into Boswell's range. Brown got that, as well, catching a 14-yard pass from Roethlisberger on the next play to put the ball at the Green Bay 33 with nine seconds remaining.
"It’s about finding A.B. and him and me doing what we do," Roethlisberger said.
The Steelers attempted to get just a little closer with one final play, but Roethlisberger's throw to Bell in the flat was stopped for a two-yard loss, making Boswell's game-winning attempt just a little longer, just at the edge of where special teams coach Danny Smith had told the quarterback that a field goal could be attempted.
"We were close. The last play, I threw it to Le’Veon," Roethlisberger said. "I probably should have just thrown it into the ground, but you see the open guy. Danny said 32 to 35. We were on the 35, I think."
It didn't matter. Boswell's kick would have been good from much longer. And when it went through the uprights, a collective sigh of relief came out of the Heinz Field crowd of 62,147.
It wasn't a pretty win. But it was a win.
"We’re 9-2. They say they’re ugly wins and stuff. We’ll take the win," said Roethlisberger. "We didn’t make all the plays. We turned the ball over. But you find a way to give Boz a chance at the end, that’s awesome. I’m happy for him."
The Steelers didn't make all the plays. And they did turn the ball over.
They took the ball on the opening possession of the game and quickly moved downfield before slowing a bit inside the 20. But on fourth-and-goal from the 1, Roethlisberger shoveled the ball to tight end Xavier Grimble for a touchdown. Boswell missed the PAT, however, and the Steelers led 6-0.
Green Bay, playing its fourth full game without Rodgers, looked like a different team than it did a week ago in a 23-0 loss at Lambeau Field against Baltimore.
It appeared the Steelers would continue those woes when Stephon Tuitt sacked Hundley at midfield on third down, forcing a fumble the Packers recovered. But corner Artie Burns was penalized for illegal use of hands, extending the possession.
Two plays later, Hundley found Randall Cobb by himself down the sideline on a broken coverage by Burns for a 39-yard touchdown and a 7-6 lead.
Roethlisberger was intercepted by corner Damarrious Randall on the Steelers' next possession and it took the Packers just three plays to score, this time on third-and-nine from their own 46. Williams caught a screen pass from Hundley, picked up some blocking -- some of which the Steelers claimed was illegal -- and turned it into a 54-yard touchdown and a 14-6 lead.
The Steelers tied the game in the second quarter after pinning Green Bay inside their own 10.
Roethlisberger connected with Brown for a 39-yard gain on third-and-five from the Pittsburgh 40, and Bryant -- getting more playing time with JuJu Smith-Schuster out with a hamstring injury -- caught a 17-yard touchdown pass on a corner fade. Roethlisberger then threw a two-point conversion pass to Brown to tie the game.
The big plays, however, kept coming for Hundley, who completed 17 of 26 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns.
Facing a third-and-short from midfield, the Packers got Coty Sensabaugh -- starting in place of injured Joe Haden -- to bite on a double move and Devante Adams hauled in a 55-yard touchdown pass down the sideline to put the Packers back in front, 21-14.
Roethlisberger was intercepted again to end the Steelers' next possession, this one coming from inside linebacker Blake Martinez off a tipped screen pass.
The Packers moved to the Pittsburgh 31, but Hundley was sacked by L.T. Walton and Cam Heyward to push the ball back to the 39. Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy sent his field goal unit out for Mason Crosby's ill-fated 57-yard attempt that sailed wide left.
"That was right on the fringe," said McCarthy of what would have been the longest field goal in Heinz Field history. "I have a lot of faith and trust in Mason."
Taking advantage, the Steelers tied the game on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to Brown, then grabbed the lead midway through the fourth quarter on a second connection from that duo, this one from 33 yards, to take a 28-21 lead.
But Green Bay answered on its next possession, as Hundley regained some rhythm and led the Packers into scoring range for this 4-yard TD run by Williams.
That set the stage for something special, even if it was late in coming.
I asked All-Pro guard David DeCastro what was going through his mind when the Steelers got the ball back with 17 seconds remaining.
"Please, can we get this field goal? I really don’t want to play overtime," DeCastro replied. "That’s literally what was going through my head. Let’s get within range. Luckily, A.B. did what A.B. does. It’s insane to do it in the moment that he did it. It’s one thing to do it on Thursday. He’s the hardest worker in the NFL. I’ll put him up against anyone. It’s amazing."
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Steelers vs. Packers, Heinz Field, Nov. 26, 2017. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS