Lions @ Steelers
Final Score: Lions 16, Steelers 16 (OT)
Writer: Callen Elslager (@callen_elslager on Twitter and Reddit)
With the surprising news on Saturday night that Ben Roethlisberger would miss this matchup due to COVID, the Steelers were not able to adjust as well as they needed to and tied the Lions 16-16. The Lions, with a hobbled Jared Goff, ran all over the Steelers’ defense, led by an impressive game by D’Andre Swift and two long rushing touchdowns by Jermar Jefferson and Godwin Igwebuike. The Steelers’ defense, however, even after T.J. Watt left with an injury, came up with crucial stops when they needed to in order to keep the Steelers in the game. However, the Steelers’ offense led by Mason Rudolph could not sustain drives in order to take the lead, including two crucial fumbles in overtime by Diontae Johnson and Pat Freirmuth.
Detroit Lions
Quarterback
Jared Goff: 14/25, 114 yards
Throughout the game, it was clear that Jared Goff was not a hundred percent as he was consistently being treated on the sideline in between drives, with what would later be disclosed as a strained oblique. This would lead to the Lions taking a much heavier run-first approach to their offense. With this, the Detroit touchdowns came on two longer rushes, with Goff’s pass attempts normally taking the shorter dump off route, though there was an interception he threw in overtime which was called back due to a Pittsburgh penalty. The offensive gameplan was clearly to run it on the ground and only have Goff air it out when absolutely necessary, which helped to limit mistakes but made the offense very one-dimensional for much of the game.
Running Back
D’Andre Swift: 33 carries, 130 yards | 6 targets, 3 receptions, 5 yards
Godwin Igwebuike: 2 carries, 56 yards, TD
Jermar Jefferson: 3 carries, 41 yards, TD
Jason Cabinda: 1 carry, 2 yards
Early on it seemed as if the Steelers’ defense had the Lions’ run game locked down. However, D’Andre Swift could not be held back for long, as he would break through for multiple long runs and was the clear workhorse back in this offense for much of the day. Unfortunately for him, the two touchdowns scored by this offense were by Godwin Igwebuike and Jermar Jefferson on two long runs.
.@Munchie1_ into the end zone for six!#DETvsPIT | 📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/xwcnqViMdb
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) November 14, 2021
The first career TD for Igwebuike to give the #Lions the lead!
#DETvsPIT | 📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/kjLzFWwzCg— Detroit Lions (@Lions) November 14, 2021
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Amon-Ra St. Brown: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 61 yards
Khalif Raymond: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 29 yards
Trinity Benson: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 17 yards
Brock Wright: 2 targets, 1 reception, 2 yards
T.J. Hockenson: 1 target
With the run-first offense that the Lions established throughout, there were not as many opportunities for the passing game since Jared Goff simply wasn’t asked to do much. T.J. Hockenson barely spent any time on the screen and was only targeted once in the game, a huge disappointment for the fantasy managers out there who invested heavily in him. The two top targets for Detroit in this game, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Khalif Raymond, have similar skillsets and split the work as a result. Raymond received most of his targets on shorter routes in key situations, while St. Brown was used as a field stretcher as he helped open the field more with some open space. St. Brown flashed a bit but otherwise this was a disappointing day for this crew.
.@JaredGoff16 🎯 @amonra_stbrown #DETvsPIT | 📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/WBmZb4IzVx
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) November 14, 2021
Pittsburgh Steelers
Quarterback
Mason Rudolph: 30/50, 242 yards, TD, INT | 4 carries, 36 yards
With the sudden announcement Saturday night that Ben Roethlisberger would be missing the game due to COVID-19, the Steelers had to turn to Mason Rudolph, which produced pretty mixed results. The Steelers pivoted to the offense from last year with some pretty quick passes from Rudolph, getting the ball out of his hand as quickly as possible. It’s clear that they don’t trust him to be a playmaker on his own. Early in the game, this produced pretty great results with the Steelers marching right downfield and scoring a touchdown, as Rudolph found James Washington in the corner of the end zone on a nice pass. After that, however, he could not lead the Steelers back to the end zone as he often missed his receivers high, while also leaving a pass very short of a wide-open Ray-Ray McCloud in the end zone down at the goal line. He did throw one ugly interception, leaving a pass behind the out route of Kalen Ballage, while also having another interception called back due to a Detroit penalty. Rudolph was lucky this game resulted in a tie because it could have been much worse.
Might wanna put someone on that @JamesWashington guy.@Rudolph2Mason | 📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/PbmNc7Cb4V
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 14, 2021
The first career pick for @julian_okwara!#DETvsPIT | 📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/MEDavYzIUi
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) November 14, 2021
Running Back
Najee Harris: 26 carries, 105 yards | 4 targets, 4 receptions, 26 yards
Benny Snell Jr.: 1 carry, 4 yards
Derek Watt: 1 target, 1 reception, 9 yards
Kalen Ballage: 2 targets
Even with the loss of two offensive linemen during the game, Najee Harris looked pretty good pushing through the gaps which the line gave him and broke off some tackles. Any concerns which were brought up during the week with a missed practice were not evident as he looked pretty much like his normal self, including one touchdown from the redzone which was called back on a holding penalty. While he did spell some snaps to a carry from Benny Snell and some early snaps to Kalen Ballage, with two off-target passes in Ballage’s direction, Harris would return to look like his usual self including another solid week of work in the passing game, with Rudolph taking the quick dump off to him in the face of pressure.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Diontae Johnson: 13 targets, 7 receptions, 83 yards
Ray-Ray McLoud: 12 targets, 9 receptions, 63 yards
Pat Freiermuth: 9 targets, 5 receptions, 31 yards
James Washington: 6 targets, 2 receptions, 15 yards, 1 TD
Eric Ebron: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 13 yards
Early on there were concerns with the lack of work in the passing game for Diontae Johnson, as Rudolph was often looking to quick passes to players like Ray-Ray McLoud and the tight ends. But soon after, Johnson would emerge back as the Steelers’ number one target, even receiving some deep shots downfield, including a nice leaping catch on the sideline on one in overtime. However, this highlight would be short-lived, as soon after making that catch, the ball would be stripped from him after getting into potential field goal territory.
Keep hustling @MGilbert_3 #DETvsPIT | 📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/JFzUAKRJO1
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) November 14, 2021
Unfortunately for the Steelers, Johnson wasn’t the only receiver with a crucial fumble in overtime, as Pat Freirmuth, who still saw his usual work in the red zone, also fumbled late in overtime after a nice catch to the outside led to him being stripped immediately. The change in quarterbacks did not change his effectiveness, as Rudolph used him in similar situations which Roethlisberger had been doing.
.@III_Flowers on the spot❗️#DETvsPIT | 📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/LMEq1L2jBl
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) November 14, 2021
The biggest change in the offense came with Ray-Ray McLoud who saw many quick passes from Rudolph, similar to the routes which Juju Smith-Schuster would run with Roethlisberger. There was also a clear connection between Rudolph and James Washington from their time together in college, though the two could not connect asides from the touchdown pass shown earlier, with Rudolph trying to find him downfield but often missing high.
— Callen Elslager (@callen_elslager on Twitter and Reddit)