Pride of Detroit
If the Detroit Lions are going to make the playoffs this year, they’re going to have to largely earn it themselves. After getting no help from the Rams or Packers this week, the Lions find themselves in a situation where even if they win their final three games and get to 11-6, there is no guarantee they’ll get into the postseason. Anything less than 11-6, and you can pretty much kiss any realistic shot at a playoff run goodbye.
But it’s always been a one-game-at-a-time attitude within the Lions organization, and this week the Pittsburgh Steelers stand in their way. The Steelers, led by veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers, are on the verge of winning the AFC North and advancing the playoffs themselves. At 8-6, they’re trying to hold off the 7-7 Baltimore Ravens. But the stakes of this game aren’t as big for Pittsburgh, because all they need is a win over the Ravens in Week 18 to clinch the division and stamp their ticket to the playoffs.
With two teams making their case for the postseason, it’s not all that surprising that CBS chose this one as their Game of the Week.
If you’re not able to follow along on TV, you can use this post for live updates from Ford Field. We’ll provide drive summaries, highlights, injury news, and, of course, the current score as soon as the game kicks off at 4:25 p.m. ET. Just stay on this page and occasionally refresh to get the latest news.
See you at kickoff!
The Steelers won the toss and deferred, giving the Lions the opportunity to score first. Instead, they went three-and-out. A second-down sack from Keeanu Benton put the Lions behind the sticks and a screen pass to Jahmyr Gibbs went nowhere.
Pittsburgh would strike first after a methodical drive by Aaron Rodgers and company. Rodgers completed an 18-yard pass to Darnell Washington to convert a third-and-5. However, when they got into Lions territory, Detroit’s defense stiffened up. Aidan Hutchinson notched a second-down sack…
..and Alex Anzalone broke up a pass at the line of scrimmage to force a long field goal. Chris Boswell drilled the 59-yarder to make it 3-0 Steelers just under six minutes in.
Detroit’s offense mounted a promising drive in response. Although, Gibbs fumbled on the opening play, resulting in a 4-yard loss, Kalif Raymond pulled them out of the hole with a 13-yard gain on third-and-long. Then Anthony Firkser made a pair of contested catches for 18 and 14 yards to get the Lions into the red zone. Unfortunately for Detroit, they completely stalled in goal-to-go situations. Detroit opted to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line, and Goff could not find an open receiver, resulting in a turnover on downs.
The Lions defense had a chance to get off the field quick on a third-and-5, but Rodgers found Calvin Austin for an 8-yard gain that give the Steelers some breathing room.
