Steelers Keep Playoff Hopes Alive With Win Over Seahawks

The Pittsburgh Steelers used a dominant run game to keep their postseason hopes alive with a win in Seattle.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers, still needing every possible win and positive break to keep their postseason hopes alive, set the tone with a dominant offensive day on the ground in a 30-23 victory over the Seahawks. Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris led an offense that accounted for 203 yards rushing, which covered for a leaky Steelers secondary as they picked up a much-needed road victory.

The Steelers lost the coin toss but the Seahawks deferred, giving the ball to Mason Rudolph to open the game. The Steelers drove into Seahawks territory and got aggressive on fourth and five, but Rudolph's back-shoulder throw intended for Pickens fell incomplete because of nice coverage from Tariq Woolen and Seattle took over at their own 41-yard line.

The Pittsburgh defense bailed out the failed fourth-down attempt from the offense, forcing a quick three-and-out and punt from the Seahawks. 

The Steelers dodged a disaster to start their next drive. Diontae Johnson hauled in a difficult pass but as he was falling out of bounds, fumbled the ball back to the Seahawks. Luckily for the Steelers, it was ruled that Johnson touched the ball while he was out of bounds and the Steelers kept the ball after a 16-yard gain. 

The Steelers got to another fourth down - this time fourth and one from midfield - and Rudolph converted it with a sneak right to the line to gain. More tough running form Najee Harris moved the sticks twice more to the Seahawks' 31-yard line. Jaylen Warren finished off the drive with an 18-yard touchdown run, aided by good blocks from George Pickens and Dan Moore, that put the Steelers up 7-0 at the 1:53 mark of the first quarter. 

Geno Smith escaped pressure in the pocket and hit D.K. Metcalf for a 33-yard gain, his third completion in a row to start the next drive, setting the stage for a 13-yard touchdown run from Kenneth Walker that tied the game at 7 just 3:03 after the Steelers took the lead. 

Warren stayed hot with his next touch, shaking off a poor snap and awkward exchange, then running through multiple tackles for a 23-yard gain and a first down. Then Pickens hauled in a 37-yard pass from Rudolph to put the Steelers back in the redzone. But upon getting within scoring range, Pittsburgh stalled and after Rudolph was sacked on third down, Chris Boswell came on to knock through a 39-yard field goal that put the Steelers ahead 10-7 with 10:30 to play until halftime. 

Smith continued to slice and dice an undermanned Steelers secondary, completing passes of 11, 21 and 21 yards again to three different receivers to compliment Walker's slick running and set the Seahawks up with a redzone opportunity. And on third and 11 from the 12-yard line, Smith hit the rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a touchdown in the back of the endzone with 5:30 to go until halftime. 

The Steelers, now trailing 14-10, came up with two big plays - a 23-yard reception from Pat Freiermuth and 23-yard run by Harris - to get them back in business at the Seattle 21-yard line. Harris continued to run with power, bulldozing his way through the Seahawks defense for a go-ahead, nine-yard touchdown run to put Pittsburgh ahead 17-14 with 1:36 left until intermission. 

Seattle went three-and-out in 41 seconds and the Steelers got the ball back with a chance to add points with less than a minute to go until halftime. But they couldn't make anything of the final 45 seconds and went to halftime nursing a three-point lead. 

The Seahawks took the ball coming out of the intermission and Smith continued to hit on long passing plays that got the Seahawks into Steelers territory. They even moved all the way inside the Steelers' 10-yard line with a 23-yard run from Walker, but it was called back because of a holding penalty on Metcalf and the Seahawks settled for a field goal that tied the game at 17 with 10:47 left in the third quarter. 

With his next possession, Rudolph started to really heat up. Seattle crowded more defenders in the box to stop Harris and Warren so Rudolph hit Pat Freiermuth for a 14-yard gain, then found a wide-open Johnson for a 42-yard catch and run to the Seattle four-yard line. Then Harris, riding a push from the Steelers offensive line, scored his second rushing touchdown of the day to put Pittsburgh ahead 24-17 midway through the third quarter. 

The Seahawks could only manage a three-and-out with their next drive and the Steelers took back over at their own 21-yard line with 4:35 left after a punt. A rare run for a loss from Warren put the Steelers behind the chains and they couldn't overcome the setback, then punted back to the Seahawks. 

Seattle closed the third quarter with two big plays - a 32-yard reception from Metcalf and a 25-yard scramble from Smith - and opened the final frame at the Pittsburgh 29-yard line. But they stalled once touching enemy territory and settled for another field goal from Jason Myers that made it 24-20 with 13:34 to play in regulation. 

The Steelers faced a critical third down and six from their own 44-yard line when Rudolph, standing in the pocket against pressure, uncorked a long ball to Pickens, who made a spectacular diving catch to pick up 34 yards and a first down. Pittsburgh moved methodically into the redzone as the fourth quarter clock wound down within 10 minutes. 

The were ultimately forced to settle for another short field goal from Boswell, who made it 27-20 with 7:10 left to play, after Rudolph checked down short of the sticks on third and 12. 

The Steelers got the ball back immediately, though, when rookie Nick Herbig ripped through the Seattle offensive line and stripped Smith of the ball in the backfield, then recovered the fumble at the Seahawks 16-yard line. Pickens took the ball to the five-yard line on a jet sweep but after three more plays went nowhere, Boswell chipped in a 21-yard field goal to make it a 10-point lead with 4:31 to play in regulation. 

Moving quickly, Smith battled relentless pressure from T.J. Watt to deliver completion after completion and get the Seahawks into the redzone before the two-minute warning. Levi Wallace and Joey Porter Jr. forced incompletions on second and third down and forced a 24-yard field goal attempt from Myers, which he made, to bring the Seahawks within one score at 30-23 with 2:01 left in the fourth quarter. 

Seattle attempted an onside kick and Johnson recovered it for the Steelers and they started their next drive with Rudolph hitting Pickens for a 24 yard gain that got them into field goal range and all but iced the game. The Seahawks burned their final two timeouts as the Steelers used Harris' legs to burn the remainder of the clock. His 12-yard burst on third and seven, after Seattle had already burned their final timeout, officially put a win on ice and improved the Steelers' record to 9-7. 

The Steelers helped themselves with this win over Seattle, but to make they playoffs, they'll still need to beat the Baltimore Ravens, who just locked up the AFC's No. 1 seed, next week. Pittsburgh would also need the Jaguars to lose to the Titans and the Bills to lose to the Dolphins in order to sneak into the dance. 

There is still plenty of action left to be packed into the final week of the regular season for the Steelers. 

Make sure you bookmark All Steelers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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