The play was set up by a fumble by Washington that ended a Steelers drive at the Detroit 3. But on third-and-8 from his own 5, Goff took the snap in the end zone and couldn’t elude Dugger’s blitz through the Lions’ left side. Dugger’s tackle of the QB in the end zone gave the Steelers a 12-10 with 9:42 left in the third quarter.

After the safety, the Steelers retained possession and put together a 17-play field goal drive that took 9:44 off the clock. The long drive was continued by a fourth-and-2 pass to Scottie Miller for 7, a third-and-4 pass to Miller for 9, and a fourth-and-1 fake handoff to Gainwell for 8. Boswell’s 23-yard field goal gave the Steelers a 15-10 lead with 14:58 to play.

would’ve enjoyed a touchdown, but that’s the component of complementary ball. You support one another. That’s what you do. Don’t forget, on the front end of that we turned the ball over going in. And that’s what complementary football is about. It’s not only about complementing the good, it’s about standing up and minimizing the negative.”

The Steelers forced a three-and-out, got the ball back, and blew their lead up to 12 with a touchdown. Warren, running behind the jumbo package with Washington and third tackle Spencer Anderson on the left, broke through the left side for his first 45-yard touchdown run. It was Warren’s longest run since 2023 and gave the Steelers a 22-10 lead with 12:23 remaining.

The Lions answered quickly. On fourth-and-2 from the Pittsburgh 27, Goff hit Kalif Raymond on a short crosser. Asante Samuel Jr. dove but missed Raymond, who ran the rest of the way for a 27-yard touchdown catch. The score cut the Steelers’ lead to 22-17 with 8:39 remaining.

But Warren struck again on his next carry. And again, it was a 45-yard touchdown run through the left side.

A 20-yard back-shoulder pass to DK Metcalf by Rodgers set up the play. It erased a first-and-20 and put the ball at the Detroit 45. Warren took the next handoff, cut back to the left — this time the weak side — and used a critical block by Metcalf to break off the second 45-yard touchdown run. This one gave the Steelers a 29-17 lead with 6:41 to play. It also put Warren over the 100-yard mark for the game.

“Guys were winning the line of scrimmage,” Tomlin said of Warren’s two 45-yard TD strikes. “Just look at the blocks on those plays, man. On the second one, what a block by DK on the perimeter to finish it. From my vantage point, it just looked like guys were blocked, and that’s awesome.”

The Lions refused to quit. They drove 68 yards in 2:30 for another touchdown, this one with a fourth-and-goal, 4-yard pass to Gibbs out of the backfield. It once again cut the lead to five, 29-24, this time with 4:11 to play.

Rodgers drove the Steelers to the Detroit 18, but Boswell hit the right upright and missed a 37-yard field goal attempt. The Lions regained possession at the Pittsburgh 27 with 2:05 to play and didn’t quit until the officials ruled the final play offensive pass interference.

The Steelers outgained the Lions, 481-361, outrushed them, 230-15, and held the time-of-possession advantage 34:06 to 25:54.

In continuing his exceptional play down the stretch of the regular season, Rodgers completed 27 of 41 passes for 266 yards, and a touchdown without turning the ball over. His passer rating was 92.1.

“It’s this time of year,” Tomlin said. “It’s why I love it. If you’re a competitor, you run to this stuff. And I think we’ve got a collection of competitors.”