The ending sequence of the Detroit Lions’ Week 16 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers was unlike any finish seen before.
After trailing by 12 points with less than five minutes remaining, the Lions pulled back within one score, 29-24, on Detroit quarterback Jared Goff’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs with 4:11 remaining.
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Then, after Steelers kicker Chris Boswell shockingly missed a 37-yard field goal try off the right upright that would have given Pittsburgh an eight-point lead, the Lions suddenly had a chance to drive for the win with the two-minute warning and one timeout remaining.
The Lions proce…
The ending sequence of the Detroit Lions’ Week 16 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers was unlike any finish seen before.
After trailing by 12 points with less than five minutes remaining, the Lions pulled back within one score, 29-24, on Detroit quarterback Jared Goff’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs with 4:11 remaining.
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Then, after Steelers kicker Chris Boswell shockingly missed a 37-yard field goal try off the right upright that would have given Pittsburgh an eight-point lead, the Lions suddenly had a chance to drive for the win with the two-minute warning and one timeout remaining.
The Lions proceeded to march all the way down to the Steelers’ 1-yard-line. It looked like Detroit had found the go-ahead touchdown to Amon-Ra St. Brown with :22 left to play, but an offensive pass interference penalty on Isaac TeSlaa wiped out that would-be score.
Afterwards, Goff said TeSlaa, a rookie receiver out of Arkansas, has nothing to hang his head about.
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"The one where St. caught it that we thought was a touchdown, in my opinion, that’s a bad call, but those happen. Listen, man, they’ve got a tough job and they make calls that go our way all the time, but that one in particular he should not hang his head about and I know he’d like to have the in line back again. But, that guy made a great catch earlier in the game, he’s been doing a great job and I have zero reservations about him and know he’ll bounce back," Goff said of TeSlaa.
Three plays later, the Lions had one final, last-ditch effort to get into the end zone on 4th-and-goal from the Steelers’ 9-yard-line.
Goff fired a pass that was caught by Amon-Ra St. Brown as the 6-foot receiver spun back out of the end zone and hauled it in at the 2-yard-line. St. Brown was met, wrapped up and driven backwards by Steelers cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey and Joey Porter Jr.
As he was falling to the Ford Field turf, St. Brown lateraled the football to Goff, who sprinted toward and leapt into the end zone for what looked like a potential game-winning score as time expired. But, St. Brown had been flagged for another offensive pass interference penalty, nullifying another Lions touchdown.
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With it being an offensive penalty, by rule, the half does not continue and the Lions lost, 29-24.
"Yeah, I knew there was a penalty. Was hoping it was defensive and then we either have another play if St. was down. When I saw he wasn’t down, hoping it’s defensive and we get the touchdown and win the game, but didn’t go that way and we lost," Goff said of the final sequence.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell said the loss was "frustrating," but noted he was proud of the way his group fought.
"We weren’t able to close it out. And at the end of the day, that’s on us. We did that. We’re the ones who put ourselves in that position to where we had to try to score on the last play. Some of the efforts were outstanding, and it was just too little, too late. We just didn’t make enough plays," Campbell said.
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Campbell was asked about the controversial final play, and the Lions’ fifth-year head coach said there were opportunities beforehand.
"I mean, I don’t even want to get into it, you know, because it’s not going to change anything. We still lost. I mean, look, you think you score, you don’t score. And then, you think you’re going to have another play, replay it or back it up one more shot and it doesn’t.
"I guess that’s the way it’s written in the rule book, so that’s frustrating. But, there again, it shouldn’t ever come to that. We had our opportunities. We weren’t able to put it in before that play," Campbell said.
Now, the Lions will close with games at Minnesota on Christmas Day and at Chicago on either Jan. 3 or Jan. 4 to close the season. If Detroit wins both of its final two games and Green Bay loses its final two games versus Baltimore and at Minnesota, then the Lions would grab the final NFC wild card berth.
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"You can’t feel sorry for yourself. It doesn’t mean it doesn’t sting, that it doesn’t feel bad. But we have nobody to blame but ourselves. It’s on us. And it’s also on us to finish. We’ve got two to go," Campbell said.
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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Dan Campbell, Jared Goff comment on Lions-Steelers ending