Steelers Survive Wild Finish Against Lions After Controversial Final Play
Week 16 delivered one of the most chaotic finishes of the NFL season, as the Pittsburgh Steelers held off the Detroit Lions in a 29-24 thriller that ended in controversy, confusion, and a whole lot of what-ifs.
With the clock ticking down and Detroit trailing by five, Jared Goff and the Lions were in desperation mode. What followed was a play that had all the makings of an instant classic - until it didn’t count.
Goff connected with Amon-Ra St. Brown near the goal line as time expired.
St. Brown didn’t break the plane, but in a heads-up move, he lateraled the ball back to Goff, who then took it into the end zone himself.
It looked like a walk-off touchdown, the kind of backyard-style magic that teams dream about in crunch time.
But the celebration was short-lived.
A flag had been thrown during the play - offensive pass interference on St. Brown.
That penalty wiped out the touchdown, and because it occurred on the final play of the game with no time left, the game was over. Steelers win.
Former NFL official and rules analyst Gene Steratore broke down the sequence after the fact, confirming that the call was correct under league rules. “A completed catch, a backwards lateral, and a touchdown by Detroit,” Steratore said.
“There was a flag thrown for offensive pass interference. The clock was at 0:00 when the touchdown occurred and because the penalty was committed by the offense, the game is over and the touchdown does not count.”
That part is straightforward. But Steratore also added a wrinkle - his belief that the play should’ve been blown dead before the lateral even happened.
According to him, St. Brown’s forward progress was stopped at around the 2-second mark.
If that had been the ruling on the field, the Steelers likely would’ve declined the penalty, and the game would’ve ended on a turnover on downs, with no touchdown and no lateral.
That’s where the debate starts.
Still, when you look at the replay, there’s not a lot of room to argue the actual penalty. St.
Brown clearly extends his arm and creates separation from Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey before making the catch. That’s textbook offensive pass interference.
It’s a tough way to lose, no doubt - especially on a play that almost rewrote the ending - but the flag was there for a reason.
For the Steelers, it’s a gritty win that keeps their playoff hopes alive. For the Lions, it’s a gut punch - a game that nearly ended in miracle fashion, only to be erased by a penalty that, by the letter of the law, was the right call.
Football doesn’t always give us clean endings. Sometimes, it gives us chaos. And in Pittsburgh, that chaos came with a flag, a reversal, and a whole lot of heartbreak.