PITTSBURGH — Well, the Steelers didn’t lose to the league’s last winless team. But they didn’t beat them, either. For the first time this NFL season, two teams finished in a draw, and the Steelers were part of one for the first time since their season opener in 2018 at Cleveland. Not even an overtime comedy of errors was enough to decide who was more inept Sunday afternoon at Heinz Field, which hadn’t witnessed a tie since 2002 against Atlanta.
Mason Rudolph had to fill in for Ben Roethlisberger on about 18 hours notice, and the backup quarterback got off to a nice start. He led the Steelers right down the field on the game’s opening drive, capping it with a 9-yard touchdown to college teammate James Washington. That should’ve been a score that sparked passer and receiver, both in need of a big game at this point in their careers, but it wasn’t to be.
After throwing for 30 yards on 4-of-5 passing on that first possession, Rudolph finished with 242 yards through the air on 30-of-50 passing, including one horrible interception lofted up to outside linebacker Julian Okwara. Many of Rudolph’s throws were off-target, both high and low, and he was actually more impactful as a runner with 37 yards on two carries. That part was surprising, but he didn’t stun anyone in an unexpected but juicy opportunity against a winless opponent — and an opposing quarterback who threw for just 114 yards in Jared Goff.
It was over when: The clock hit zero after a desperation hook-and-lateral try by the Lions from their 38, which directly followed a lost fumble by Steelers rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth trying to get into Chris Boswell’s field-goal range with eight seconds left. No one won it. No one lost it. The 58,716 in attendance, or at least those who stayed through the rain until the bittersweet end, were treated to as much football as they could possibly see for whatever price they paid on their tickets. Many left Heinz Field questioning reality, the meaning of life and whether that was one of the dumbest games ever played.
Player of the game: Cam Heyward. What else is new? Well, in this one, the Steelers defense had to recover from what initially looked to be a serious injury to their biggest star, T.J. Watt. But Heyward has been a star this season in his own right, and he seemed particularly determined to hold the line for Watt once the reigning team MVP went down. Heyward had two sacks, including one on 3rd-and-7 in overtime to keep the Lions out of field-goal range — although we later found out that Ryan Santoso’s range doesn’t extend very far, based on his 48-yarder that fell woefully short with a chance to win it with 4:08 remaining.
Trending up: Ray-Ray McCloud. One week after he was a dud who nearly blew the game with a punt return fumble, McCloud looked more like a stud with nine catches for 63 yards. Four of those receptions went for first downs on a day the offense was struggling to keep drives alive. There’s no doubt McCloud was more involved with Chase Claypool out because of a toe injury, but he was more productive in that spot than James Washington. Plus he made a heads-up play on special teams to help force a touchback when the Lions thought they downed a punt at the 1. Best of all, he didn’t lose a fumble in overtime like Freiermuth and Diontae Johnson.
Trending down: Devin Bush. You could say Bush’s arrow was never pointing up to begin with this season in his return from a torn ACL in 2020, but he might have been at his worst Sunday, both in run support and coverage. He also negated a huge interception in overtime by Minkah Fitzpatrick — another first-round pick considered in this spot — with a defensive holding call. Bush isn’t making splash plays, but he also seems to always be involved — or, more accurate, not involved — on the opponent’s big gains. His effort on a 42-yard touchdown run by Godwin Igwebuike, a converted safety, was laughable.
Next up: A West Coast swing to Los Angeles to face the Chargers, led by reigning rookie of the year Justin Herbert but struggling lately with losses in two of their last three to sit at 5-3.
