DETROIT —The Pittsburgh Steelers had tw0 offensive touchdowns of 45 yards or longer in the 2025 NFL season, entering Sunday's Week 16 contest with the Detroit Lions.
Against Detroit, in a crucial game against one of the highest-scoring offenses in the NFL, the Steelers had three more.
Kenneth Gainwell came through with a huge catch for a 45-yard touchdown juts before the half. In the the second half, it was Jaylen Warren bursting free for two 45-yard scoring runs as the Steelers kept pace with an explosive Detroit offense.
It represented a big change from the Steelers' usual way of winning games. On the season entering Sunday, the were 27th in the NFL in yards, but 14th in scoring, thanks to the sixth-best turnover differential in the league and one of the best red zone scoring offenses.
The predictable way that the Steelers played out most of their games this year was losing the total yardage, losing the time of possession, and finding a way to win a close game thanks to turnovers and red zone success.
You can will a lot of football games with that recipe. You will also probably not win very many playoff games that way.
When the games get tight at the end of the season, and the cream rises to the crop of the NFL standings, the teams that are alive at the end of the year are usually ones with great quarterback play, and the ability to score quickly and at will.
The kind of grind-it-out games that the Steelers rely on are typically a lot scarcer, and many games become who-scores-last affairs. For the last few times they've gone to the playoffs, the Steelers found themselves matched up with an opponent where they knew they probably couldn't win that kind of a game.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen breaks through a tackle attempt by Pittsburgh Steelers safety Damontae Kazee for a 52-yard touchdown on January 16, 2024. — Ed Thompson/ Steelers Now
But that could be changing. The Steelers still aren't necessarily getting elite quarterback play from 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers , but it's clear that he's been hitting his stride as the calendar changes to December. He's gone over 220 yards in three straight games for the first time all season, and he hasn't thrown an interception in five.
The passing game isn't the only way to have an explosive offense. The Philadelphia Eagles showed the world that last year in the playoffs on the way to their Super Bowl win. Heck, the Baltimore Ravens did that to the Steelers last season in Baltimore with their running game.
The combination of Rodgers playing his best ball and Warren breaking out have coincided with some of the best offensive line play the Steelers have been getting all season — and that makes it all feel very sustainable. It's not just a random breakout, but one of the team's limiting factors being slowly removed as the young offensive line gains experience and confidence, even though they played against the Lions missing two starters and down to their fourth option at left tackle.
When you look at the totality of the offensive performance the Steelers put on display against the Lions at Ford Field on Sunday, and then compare it to the rest of the league, it's hard to envision an opponent that kind of game won't work against.
The Steelers knew coming into the game that the recipe was going to have happen in order for them to feel good about winning. The Lions have one of the best offenses in the league. It was completely unrealistic to ask the Steelers defense to hold them down entirely. The offense was going to have to come up with answers, and they did again and again and again.
"We knew we had to stay in front of them guys," Gainwell said. "We know how explosive their offense is. We kind of did our thing for a little bit, kept fighting, and came out victorious."
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Saunders: Big-Play Offense Gives Steelers a Different Dimension
Related Headlines
