A penalty extended Pittsburgh's first drive of the second half, but the Lions defense made some plays and the Steelers were forced to settle for a 38-yard Chris Boswell field goal that bounce off the goal post but careened in.
At the 9:21 mark of the third quarter, the Steelers have taken a 13-12 lead.
Juju Smith-Schuster was able to produce a first down catch-and-run of 18 yards down to the Lions 18. On first down, Ben Roethlisberger missed a wide open Darrius Heyward-Bey in the end zone, and the Steelers were left with a third-and-8 after a two-yard run by Le'Veon Bell on second down before Quandre Diggs was called for a personal foul on a shot to the head of Jesse James.