The Steelers hadn't gotten into the end zone all night long. They just couldn't finish a drive.
However, in order to honor Franco Harris the way they wanted, they would have to find a way to get it done. And eventually they would, as the Steelers capped a comeback to beat the Raiders, 13-10, on Christmas Eve at Acrisure Stadium.
Trailing, 10-6, with 50 seconds remaining, the Steelers had first-and-10 on the Las Vegas 14-yard line. Out of timeouts, the offense had to find a way to finally punch the ball in the end zone. after four Chris Boswell field-goal attempts, two of them missed.
Kenny Pickett dropped back, set his feet, waited for a split second and then fired a pass over the middle to George Pickens:
Acrisure Stadium erupted when Pickens hauled in the touchdown, giving the Steelers a 13-10 lead with :46 left on the clock after Chris Boswell added on the extra point.
The play relied on a pair of rookies to properly dissect the defense and execute the play properly.
"He had a middle-read route, so George did an incredible job of reading that," Pickett explained after the game. "The backside safety was hanging over to Pat [Freiermuth]'s side. I just wanted to hold him long enough with my eyes to make the throw to George down the seam. It worked out really well."
Pickens acknowledged after the game that he wasn't sure if he was going to get the ball or not. After all, in that situation, whoever was open would become the primary target. But Pickens read exactly what he was supposed to. That, along with Pickett's slight pause to freeze the safety, gave Pickens a gaping hole down the seam.
"It was a two-high look," Pickens explained. "If it's one-high, you run a different route. If it's two-high, you run a different route. That was the look we got, and it was more like a seam ball. He hit me right on the money."
What's even more encouraging is the Steelers drew this play up in practice to specifically attack the Raiders' scheme on defense.
"Had that look in practice a few times," Pickett said. "It's great when you work on something, you work real hard at it, and it shows up in a game in the biggest moments and you win a game like this."
Just more evidence of the team -- specifically the younger players -- getting better.
"I think it was a grow-up evening for us tonight," Mike Tomlin said. "Obviously, this was not an easy game, but we showed resolve, we complemented one another, we stood up and didn't blink, even when it got thick."
