Passing limitations: The weather conditions weren't ideal in Pittsburgh, and quarterback Jared Goff was dealing with an oblique strain for most of the game that limited him some, but Detroit's deficiencies in the pass game go beyond Sunday.
Goff has just one touchdown pass in the last five weeks. He hasn't thrown for multiple touchdowns in a contest since Week 4 in Chicago. Goff's average depth of target was just 5.2 yards Sunday, per Pro Football Focus stats, and just 24 percent of his attempts traveled past the first-down marker. – Tim Twentyman
Blough sighting: Backup QB David Blough made it on the field Sunday, but not to replace Goff, as many thought might happen because of Goff's injury. Blough was sent out to call the coin toss at the start of overtime. Blough called tails, and it came up tails, giving the Lions the ball to start overtime. – Mike O'Hara
Decker & Sewell: The Lions got to see their starting tackle tandem on the field for the first time together Sunday. Sewell played 29 pass-block reps on the right side and didn't allow a single sack or a pressure. Decker allowed no sacks and just one quarterback hit all game. That tandem will be fun to watch the rest of the season. – Tim Twentyman
Sack shortage: The Lions have gone two games without a sack and have only one sack in the last 107 pass attempts covering three games. They had no sacks in 50 drop backs against the Steelers and 16 against the Eagles Week 8. They sacked Matthew Stafford once in 41 drop backs against the Rams Week 7. – Mike O'Hara
Ground and pound: The Lions' game plan all week was to lean on their run game, and they certainly did that against the Steelers. Detroit totaled 229 rushing yards, which was the first time the Steelers have allowed an NFC opponent to run for 200-plus yards in Pittsburgh since the Minnesota Vikings did so in 1992 – Tim Twentyman
Going long: Three of the Lions' top four longest plays were runs: A 42-yard TD run by Godwin Igwebuike, a 28-yard TD run by Jermar Jefferson and a 21-yard run by D’Andre Swift. No. 2 was a 30-yard pass completion by Goff. – Mike O'Hara
Catch-less: For the first time this season, tight end T.J. Hockenson failed to catch a single pass in a game. He came into the contest leading Detroit in receptions (48) and receiving yards (448), but he was targeted just once and failed to haul it in. The last time Hockenson failed to catch a pass in a game was Week 12 of his rookie season in 2019 against Washington. He was targeted twice in that game without a catch. – Tim Twentyman
