Steelers Earn an OT Win Over Seahawks, 23-20

The Pittsburgh Steelers managed to defeat the weakened Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football, following an OT. Chris Boswell’s 36-yard field goal set the final result, 23-20, improving the Steelers’ record to 3-3.

TJ Watt strip-and-sack on Geno Smith was the crucial moment of the match. His Steelers punted the football previously, and on the very first play of the Seahawks, Watt found his way to Smith, who didn’t have many mistakes up until that point. Yet, Seattle’s backup QB fumbled the football, and Devin Bush reached out to it first.

Pittsburgh tried to make a small gain on its possession, but after seeing that they couldn’t, Boswell stepped in to solve this one.

The game had a very interesting ending of the regulations, with the Seahawks leveling the score at 20-all as time expired. But we saw some controversy that led to this situation. The officials were reviewing DK Metcalf’s catch bringing back the clock to three seconds, which gave Seattle time to spike the ball and set up a field-goal position. However, if it weren’t for that decision, things would be pretty nasty for the guests.

Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin was furious with the call, saying that it was an embarrassment for refs.

“I hated it. I hated it,” Tomlin said. “I cannot believe that game was stopped to confirm catch/no catch at that moment.”

His Steelers had a 14-0 lead early on, scoring two touchdowns in the second period. However, the Seahawks responded with the same measure, making this a close game before the start of the final 15 minutes and trimming down the hosts’ lead to 17-14.

In the end, they had one more field goal in the fourth, forcing the overtime, but unfortunately for their fans, missing a chance to win even though they had the first possession.

Geno Smith, who replaced Russell Wilson, had a solid game, completing 23 of his 32 passing attempts, for 209 yards and one TD. Smith was, however, sacked five times for 44 negative yards, and had that fumble in the worst possible moment.

“I thought he played tough as hell,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said of Smith. “He was clear and calm and poised exactly like you’d hope he’d be. The game was not too big for him at all.”

TJ Watt tonight vs Seattle:

7 tackles. 2 sacks, 3 tackles for loss, 3 pass deflections, and the game winning forced fumble on Geno Smith

DPOY pic.twitter.com/1yrpdX6Sjv

— Steelers Network (@SteelersNetwork) October 18, 2021

RB Alex Collins had a good night, posting 101 yards on 20 carries and one touchdown, proving that he might be a solution for Seattle’s struggles with the rushing game. DK Metcalf had 58 receiving yards, Gerald Everett 40, and Tyler Lockett 35.

On the other side, Ben Roethlisberger had 229 yards, 29-for-40 for one TD and one fumble. It is obvious that in certain situations, Big Ben can’t react or play like before.

Diontae Johnson had 96 yards from the scrimmage, 25 on the ground, and 71 through the air. Najee Harris ran for 81 yards, but also caught 46 and one TD, being the focal point of Pittsburgh’s attack. Eric Ebron also had a TD, only on the ground.

The Steelers have a week off and enough time to prepare for a rough trip to Cleveland, where they meet the Browns on October 31. This is a rematch of the last year’s AFC Divisional round in which Browns defeated the Steelers.

As for the Seahawks, they will take on the New Orleans Saints at home next Monday, in a match that they need to win and preserve some chances for reaching the playoffs.