With legends such as Troy Polamalu, Donnie Shell, Alan Faneca and Bill Cowher looking on after receiving their Hall of Fame rings at halftime, the Steelers defense looked like a shell of itself in the second half after pitching a shutout over the first two quarters against the Seahawks here at Heinz Field.
Seattle, which had just 65 yards of offense in the first half, came out of the locker room in the second half running the ball, gaining 110 yards on the ground in the third quarter alone.
Suddenly, a game in which the Steelers were seemingly in control of at that half, when they built a 14-0 lead, appeared in serious jeopardy.
Fortunately for the Steelers, they had T.J. Watt on their side.
The Seahawks forced overtime on a bizarre set of circumstances that had Mike Tomlin grumbling after the game, but Watt had sacks on back-to-back defensive snaps in the extra period, the second of which he also produced a fumble by Geno Smith to set up a game-winning Chris Boswell field goal as the Steelers outlasted Seattle, 23-20.
It was the kind of performance fitting of a Defensive Player of the Yeah Award winner. And Watt did it with all five of the team's former winners of that award, Polamalu, James Harrison, Joe Greene, Rod Woodson and Mel Blount, looking on as part of the team's Alumni Weekend celebration.
"Sure," Watt said following the win that evened the Steelers' record at 3-3 when asked if he drew energy from having those players in attendance. "Alumni Weekend, all the Hall of Famers in town, in front of that crowd to try to hold up the tradition that is so rich here. To close out a game the way we did, hopefully those guys are proud."
They might not have been at times, but with the way Watt closed out the game, surely even the surly Harrison could have cracked a smile.
While Polamalu, inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame over the summer, was known for his game-changing plays in big moments, Watt's performance was, in the mind of Cam Heyward, more similar to that of the team's all-time sacks leader.
"This was different. Troy’s plays were all over the place. He’d catch a pick, zig zag back and touch down. Flying squirrel going over top of a pile," Heyward said. "I think this was very reminiscent of a guy like James Harrison, where if you get him one-on-one, you are going to pay for that. The thing I love about T.J. is that he just kept beating on the door and finally he got through and the floodgates opened up."
Seattle (2-4) sent the game into overtime on a controversial 43-yard field goal by Josh Myers as time expired -- more on that later -- and the Seahawks won the coin toss to start the extra period, driving to midfield.
But Heyward dropped D.J. Dallas for a 4-yard loss on a first-down run before Smith connected with Dallas for a 10-yard gain over the middle to the Pittsburgh 45. With Seattle facing third-and-4 and nearing field-goal range, Watt, who had been active, got home on a sack to end the threat.
Unfortunately for the Steelers, they came up a yard short of getting a first down on their first OT possession, as Ray-Ray McCloud was stopped for a 3-yard gain on third-and-4. Pressley Harvin was sent out to punt the ball back to the Seahawks with 4:33 remaining in the extra period.
The defense would have to get a quick stop if the Steelers were going to have a chance to win this game.
Watt took care of that.
"We were in a primarily run-stopping play. I don’t even think I had a good rush or anything. I was just trying to find a path to the quarterback. I chopped at the ball and the ball came out," Watt said. "I go for the ball. As you can see, I got a penalty for trying to punch at the ball (earlier in the game). It’s just something that I’m always aware of, especially when the quarterback is running with the football. It’s never fully secured. From that moment I saw it, I don’t know if it’s muscle memory or what, but I got it out."
And Devin Bush recovered it, setting the stage for Boswell to kick a 37-yard field goal to win it with 2:50 remaining on the clock.
"I loved the fourth quarter and overtime by T.J.," Heyward said. "All game, he was like, ‘I can’t get home.’ I was like ‘It will come. You’re going be great.’ When we needed it the most, he made the play. What an emphatic play to end the game, a sack, strip fumble. When we needed it, he nailed the play."
It was the kind of play the Steelers had in mind when they made Watt the highest-paid defensive player in the league earlier this year, giving him a four-year, $112-million contract extension.
Watt now has seven sacks this season in just six games, putting him on pace to break Harrison's team record of 16 set in 2008 when he was NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Watt has finished as the runner-up in each of the previous two seasons.
And it was the kind of play the Steelers needed at a crucial time to get back to 3-3 after their 1-3 start to the season.
"He’s the best outside linebacker. He’s the best defensive player in the league," Heyward said. "To have a guy that can change the game in one play, he’s a game-wrecker, a play maker. He’s a rare breed, and I’m glad we have him on our side."
• Tomlin was not happy about what transpired at the end of regulation, setting himself up to perhaps be fined by the NFL for criticizing the officials.
With 18 seconds remaining on the clock and the Seahawks having used all of their timeouts while trailing 20-17, DK Metcalf caught a 12-yard pass from Smith and went down the sideline to the Pittsburgh 25. But James Pierre knocked the ball out of Metcalf's hands. Seattle receiver Freddie Swain fell on the loose ball, and the Seahawks scrambled to get back to the line of scrimmage in time to spike the ball to get their field goal unit onto the field.
As they did so, time appeared to expire. But an official review was called to see if Metcalf had caught the ball, even though he had taken several steps down the sideline before losing the ball.
After looking at the play for several minutes, the officiating crew put three seconds back on the clock, allowing enough time for the Seahawks to spike the ball again and send Myers out to tie the game.
"I hated it," Tomlin said when asked about the situation. "I just hated it. I cannot believe the game was stopped to confirm catch-no catch in that moment. That's all I'm going to say.
"That's all I'm going to say. It was an embarrassment."
That could be enough for Tomlin to draw a fine from the NFL. The players on the field weren't sure what was going on, either.
"We know as much as you guys. We thought time expired," Watt said. "(Pierre) made a hell of a play to get the ball out. I wish we had recovered it. They had some time left and spiked the ball. The rest is history."
• There was a scary moment in the fourth quarter right before the Steelers sent Boswell out to kick a 52-yard field goal with 1:35 remaining in regulation to give the Steelers a 20-17 lead.
With 3:18 remaining, Najee Harris took a handoff for a 3-yard gain before being tackled by defensive linemen Al Woods and Darrell Taylor.
As the players unpiled, it became apparent something was wrong with Taylor, who stayed down on the field. Trainers were called out, then paramedics.
Taylor eventually moved his legs and arms, but a backboard was brought out and he was eventually taken away via a cart and transported to a local hospital to be checked out. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said after the game that Taylor would travel back to Seattle with the team.
"The CT scans were clear," Carroll said. "So that's a really good preliminary report for you. There's more tests to be done and stuff like that. So we're thrilled about that news."
Players from both teams knelt around Taylor as he lay on the ground. Unfortunately, fans in the stadium didn't understand the gravity of the situation. They began doing the wave, much to the displeasure of players from both teams, who urged them to stop.
For the Steelers, it was reminiscent of Ryan Shazier's career-ending injury in Cincinnati in 2017.
"Very scary moment, I remember when Ryan went down in Cincinnati like it was yesterday," Watt said. "There are scary, real moments in football. Sadly, you have to move on quickly. The ball gets snapped quickly as soon as the cart gets off the field. That’s just how it is. Mentally, you have to compartmentalize what just happens and snap back in."
• The Steelers allowed 18 yards rushing on five carries in the first half. In the fourth quarter and overtime, they gave up 16 yards on seven carries.
But that third quarter, ugh.
Seattle came out of the locker room in the second half and gashed the Steelers for 110 yards on 15 rushing attempts as they got back into a game they had trailed 14-0.
"It was just committing to the run game," Watt said. "There weren’t many passes at all. When they did, it was play-action with maxed up protections. There weren’t many straight-back passes until the end of the game. They stuck to the run."
That one quarter was enough for Seattle to wind up rushing for 144 yards on 27 carries.
"They stuck to the running game," Heyward said. "All week we said if we stopped the run, we’re going to be able to get after him. Down the stretch we did. We needed to continue to do that in the second half. Once we did it, the wheels fell off."
The Seahawks continually overloaded the right side of the line -- Watt's side -- and then ran to that side, with Alex Collins, who finished with 101 yards on 20 attempts, either looking for a hole in the zone-blocking scheme, or cutting things back.
"They were getting the front side. And when he wasn’t getting the front side, he was wrapping it back," Watt said. "The shotgun, they hit us on a third-and-7 run. I got kicked out pretty good. But it was just those situations when you have your ears pinned back, they can run the ball in that situation."
Once the Steelers adjusted and defenders stopped trying to do too much, it was fixed. But not soon enough for Heyward.
"We’ve got to be better. Everybody has got to be accountable," the Steelers' defensive captain said. "When we do that, we’re stout. When we don’t, we create doubt. Guys get out of their gaps and we’re in trouble."
• Kudos to rookie Tre Norwood.
He made some big plays in this game, none bigger than his third-down stop in the fourth quarter after a play that was originally called an incomplete pass by Roethlisberger was changed to a fumble thanks to a successful challenge by Carroll.
With the game tied at 17-17, Seattle took over at the Pittsburgh 35. But a holding penalty backed the Seahawks up and then Norwood sniffed out a wide-receiver screen to Swain on third-and-10 from the 35, dropping him for a 4-yard loss and forcing a punt.
"I think he had three big stops. He’s growing, as you can see, making plays, showing up," Bush said of the rookie defensive back. "He’s going to definitely be a key piece we need moving down the road."
• It wasn't pretty, to be sure. But the Steelers have gotten back to 3-3 after their 1-3 start.
Now, they head into their bye week looking to get a little more healthy.
"I don't know if it's really fully sunk in yet, but we got to our goal, which was to try and get to .500 before the bye, try and get healthy and get ready for a long stretch," said Roethlisberger, who was 29 of 40 for 229 yards and a touchdown.
Wins are wins in the NFL. And nobody is going to apologize for this one.
"Considering where we were, it's the best we could do," Roethlisberger said. "We're going to, like I said, take a little break, get this bye. We're obviously going to spend some time early in the week tomorrow with our hearts and just everything with Jerry O[lsavsky] and his family. Just so sad, and we missed Jerry out there today. I know he wanted to be out there. But like I said, our thoughts and prayers and everything go out to him, and I think we'll need to spend some time early this week really just trying to be there for him."
Olsavsky wasn't in attendance at this game after his wife, Rayme, died late last week.
• Boswell is as accurate as a Swiss watch, but Harvin continued to have some up-and-down moments in his game.
He hit a 32-yard punt at the end of the third quarter that set the Seahawks up at their own 42, allowing them to have a 36-yard field goal drive early in the fourth quarter to tie the game.
But Harvin's next punt went 50 yards and pinned the Seahawks back at their own 18. Then, in overtime, after the offense had a three-and-out, Harvin boomed a 56-yard punt out of bounds at the Seattle 15, setting the stage for Watt's sack-strip.
"He owed us one," Tomlin quipped.
Boswell was proud of how the rookie bounced back.
"He had that one punt and then the next punt he had was what, 60 in the air and out of bounds at the 15?" Boswell said. "As a young guy, that’s something you have to work on. You can’t really set that up. To have that attitude that he has is really good to see from a young guy."
• Watt wasn't the only player to get to the quarterback in this game. Heyward had a sack in the first half, the 60th of his career. That ties Joey Porter for fifth-place on the team's all-time list.
"I’m just honored to be tied with a guy like Joey Porter, a guy I respect," Heyward said. "A legend in my book."
Meanwhile, second-year outside linebacker Alex Highsmith picked up his first sack of the season, finishing with 1.5. He shared a sack with Chris Wormley. Highsmith finished with seven tackles, two tackles for a loss and four quarterback hits.
"Alex, I felt like he had a phenomenal camp and I feel like he’s put together some good rushes," Watt said. "He kind of had the groin (injury) the first couple of weeks. As a pass rusher, you get antsy, and I know he’s been antsy. I’m glad he was able to get home tonight. I’ve been watching this since he was in the building here in Pittsburgh. I’m just glad it’s paying off for him."
• Harris' stats weren't eye-popping as the rookie running back finished with 81 yards on 24 carries. But he was at his best late in this game, gaining 31 yards on five carries on the Steelers' final field-goal drive of regulation. The Steelers also got two carries for 15 yards from Kalen Ballage as they gained 119 yards on 30 carries, their second consecutive game with more than 100 yards on the ground after not reaching that number in their first four games.
"Coach says 'war of attrition,'" Roethlisberger said. "You just keep going, and KB [Ballage] came in there and ran a couple times hard. It was encouraging to see towards the end of that game that when you really need it you can pick up five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10."
• How were the Steelers going to replace JuJu Smith-Schuster? Well, it became apparent in this game that Pat Freiermuth might be the biggest recipient of Smith-Schuster's production in the passing game.
The rookie tight end had seven catches for 58 yards on seven targets. Eric Ebron also had two catches for 10 yards and scored on a 1-yard run -- yes run.
The running play on which Ebron scored was similar to one Smith-Schuster scored on earlier this year.
"They were jamming the box, and so we gave it to him and he made a great play," Roethlisberger said.