In a season of hold-your-breath finishes, the Pittsburgh Steelers got a breathtaking performance from rookie Diontae Johnson and another heart-stopping ending Sunday.
Johnson had a breakout game, returning a punt 85 yards for one touchdown and catching another touchdown to compile 163 total yards on nine touches.
And Devlin Hodges beat a No. 1 overall draft pick for the second consecutive week, outdueling Kyler Murray a week after beating Baker Mayfield.
With Steelers fans waving their Terrible Towels at State Farm Stadium, Joe Haden intercepted a Murray fourth-down desperation pass to clinch a 23-17 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
1. For openers: The Steelers have struggled on the opening drive the past 11 games, as Trib Steelers beat writer Chris Adamski pointed out on Twitter.
Against the Cardinals, the Steelers went 66 yards on 13 plays in their first possession.
Jaylen Samuels was on the receiving end of an innocuous hit that drew a roughing-the-passer penalty on linebacker Jordan Hicks on third-and-13 at the Steelers 47 for a critical first down to keep the drive alive.
But Hicks wasn’t penalized when he knocked Samuels’ helmet off on a third-and-3 at the Cardinals’ 12, a play that left the Steelers short of a first down and forced them to settle for a Chris Boswell 30-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead.
That was followed by two unbelievable plays.
2. Untouchable: You had to do a double-take when Kyler Murray’s third-down pass bounced off the hands of Larry Fitzgerald, as the Pitt great rarely drops a pass.
To be fair, the throw was high.
But it led to a punt by Andy Lee — another former Pitt star — that sailed 60 yards to Diontae Johnson at the 15. The rookie started to his left, then cut against the grain. As he sped by, three Cardinals defenders slipped and fell.
The Steelers formed a wall down the right sideline, and Johnson followed the lead of blockers Samuels, Jordan Dangerfield and Tyler Matakevich and ran untouched to the end zone for a 10-0 lead at 2:52 of the first quarter.
Just when it looked like the Steelers were about to run away with the game, things took a turn when running back Benny Snell fumbled at the Steelers 34.
3. Even up: That’s when the Cardinals offense came alive, converting three consecutive first downs to set up first-and-goal at the 3.
But the Steelers made three big stops, starting with cornerback Steven Nelson holding Christian Kirk to no gain on a short first-down pass.
On second down, free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick sniffed out a Murray play-action bootleg and dropped him for a 1-yard loss. On third down, inside linebacker Vince Williams sacked Murray for an 8-yard loss.
The Cardinals settled for a Zane Gonzalez 30-yard field goal to cut it to 10-3 at 11:15 of the second quarter.
They followed that with a 12-play, 85-yard scoring drive capped by Murray’s 6-yard pass to tight end Charles Clay with 1:51 remaining in the first half.
Suddenly, we had a game.
Just as quickly, the Steelers answered as Hodges completed a 12-yard pass to James Washington, scrambled 22 yards to the Arizona 41 and found Johnson for an 18-yard pass. Hodges fumbled for a 13-yard loss when Chandler Jones crushed him but recovered to put the Steelers in position for a Boswell 37-yard field goal and a 13-10 halftime lead.
4. Picks-Six: The Steelers sandwiched a pair of interceptions around another Johnson touchdown.
Haden picked off a Murray pass intended for Chase Edmonds, setting up a 73-yard drive that saw the Steelers draw a pass interference penalty on Byron Murphy and a pair of big-time plays by Johnson.
On first-and-10 at the 16, Johnson caught a short pass in the right flat and appeared to be bottled up by cornerback Patrick Peterson. But Johnson broke loose, reversed field and ran 14 yards to the Arizona 2.
Two plays later, Johnson caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Hodges in the upper-left corner of the end zone with Murphy in coverage for a 20-10 lead.
Murray rallied the Cardinals early in the fourth quarter, and Arizona decided to go for it on a fourth-and-6. Murray rolled right and saw tight end Maxx Williams in the end zone. Murray could have run for the first down but elected to throw, and T.J. Watt stepped in and picked it off.
But the Steelers still hadn’t sealed it.
5. Faked out: The Steelers were in control in the fourth quarter when they had a fourth-and-6 at their 40.
A punt would pin the Cardinals and force them to make another long scoring drive.
Instead, they went for the fake.
Jordan Berry took a low snap and tried to run but was blasted by Darrell Daniels, who forced a fumble. If not for a heads-up play by Steelers special teams ace Trey Edmunds, the Cardinals could have scooped and scored.
But Edmunds fought for the loose football, and Arizona took over at the Steelers 32.
Three plays later, Murray tossed a 24-yard pass over the outstretched arms of the leaping Terrell Edmunds and into the waiting hands of David Johnson to cut it to 20-17 with 6:44 remaining.
The Steelers, however, turned to their own Johnson to help put the game away.
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