Detroit Lions-Pittsburgh Steelers ending comes as surprise to some players
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PITTSBURGH — Najee Harris went back to the bench after Pat Freiermuth’s overtime fumble and gathered himself for the Steelers’ next offensive drive. Only problem: There wouldn’t be another Pittsburgh possession.
The Detroit Lions (0-8-1) tried to pull off a series of laterals in a last-ditch effort to break the 16-16 tie in the final seconds Sunday, but D’Andre Swift was pushed out of bounds to end the game in the NFL’s first tie since Week 3 of the 2020 season.
Still, the rookie running back didn’t realize it was over until a teammate told him.
“I didn’t even know you could tie in the NFL,” Harris said. “In my mind, I was sitting on the bench saying, ‘I’ve got another quarter to go.’ But someone came to me and said, ‘That’s it.’ I’ve never had a tie in my life before.”
Harris wasn’t the only one who wasn’t expecting the abrupt, unsatisfying ending.
“It’s nuts,” Lions second-year running back Godwin Igwebuike said. “I’m back there like, ‘Yo, how many overtimes can we do?’ And they’re like, ‘Three’ … I hear, ‘Two, one,’ and we were like, ‘Yo, whatever’s going on, we’re about to just put our all into it.'”
With the tie, the Lions avoided an 0-17 season, but they’re still on a 13-game winless streak that dates back to last season.
“I’m in this twilight zone,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “I don’t know what this is, really, and I’m sure I’ve been in a tie before as a player, but for some reason I can’t remember that, if it was.”
“Ties suck,” Steelers defensive captain Cam Heyward added. “I know it’s a tie, but if it’s not a win, I don’t think you can really hang your hat on that.”
The final 10-minute period was a comedy of errors for both teams.
The Lions won the coin toss and opted to receive, needing just a touchdown to win it. Instead, the Steelers (5-3-1) got the ball back in four plays, sealed by a 9-yard Heyward sack. Then, on the ensuing possession, quarterback Mason Rudolph — starting in place of Ben Roethlisberger — completed a 19-yard pass to Diontae…
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Source : espn
