Brandon Carr picked off Ben Roethlisberger on the second play in overtime to setup Dan Bailey’s 21 yard field goal pushing the Steelers (7-7) out of the last playoff spot.
Roethlisberger, who finished 24-40, 339 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, tried to reach Mike Wallace on a twelve yard out. Carr jumped the route and collected his third interception of the season. It was a diving play, one that would have ruled Carr down around the 30 yard line had Mike Wallace remembered to touch him. Instead, Carr rose to his feet and ran the ball down to the one yard line. After a Tony Romo kneel down to center the ball, Bailey kicked his team into a three way tie for the NFC East.
Wallace’s boneheaded play was just one of many by the self-touted “Young Money Crew”, made up of wide receivers Emmanuel Sanders, Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown. Sanders fumbled the ball on the opening drive after making a catch over the middle. Luckily, the referees overturned the play and ruled it as an incompletion. Antonio Brown’s fumble midway through the fourth quarter completely changed the momentum of the game and setup Dallas’ comeback.
The Cowboys (8-6) dominated the first quarter, out-gaining the Steelers by 80 yards on offense, but only had a 3-0 lead to show for it. Demarco Murray had the ball stripped inside the ten yard line by James Harrison, keeping the lead at three. After a 17 yard touchdown to Jason Witten, the Cowboys appeared to be in complete control of the game.
But the Steelers came back.
After a field goal by Shaun Suisham to cut the Dallas lead to seven, Ben Roethlisberger found Heath Miller for a 30 yard touchdown with under a minute remaining in the half. The play required Roethlisberger to scrambled, dodge and side-step the Cowboys’ pass rush for nearly ten seconds before he fired the ball to a wide open Heath Miller.
The Cowboys regained the lead on a touchdown to Dez Bryant but the Steelers quickly responded thanks to a sixty yard catch by Mike Wallace to setup a one yard touchdown run by Jonathan Dwyer.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Steelers took the lead for the first time on a seven yard touchdown catch by Antonio Brown. After forcing the Cowboys to punt, Antonio Brown looked to have a huge return only to fumble the ball on the Steelers’ 45 yard line. The turnover eventually led to a three yard touchdown run by Demarco Murray to tie the game.
The Steelers won the toss in overtime and elected to receive. Instead of marching down the field to retake the lead, the Cowboys forced a turnover and won their third straight game. They are now tied with the Washington Redskins and New York Giants for the NFC East Division.
The Steelers, meanwhile, are now one game back from the Cincinnati Bengals; the team they will host next weekend. The loss not only endangers their chances of making the playoffs but also prevents them from stealing a suddenly winnable division. The division-leading Baltimore Ravens were blown out at home earlier in the day to push their record to 9-5.
It’s been a season of missed opportunities for the Pittsburgh Steelers, symbolized by the Antonio Brown fumble. However, if the Steelers manage to win their next two games, they’ll still make the playoffs.
