PITTSBURGH — It was an evening — a whole week, really — to fete Franco Harris, but Saturday night, the current Steelers paid him the ultimate tribute.
Najee Harris ran hard like his namesake, Cam Heyward played inspired from beginning to end and rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett came through with a clutch game-winning drive to push the Steelers past the Raiders, 13-10, turning what was almost a nightmare before Christmas into an immaculate finish at Acrisure Stadium.
The possibility of a winning season and faint playoff hopes remain for the Steelers (7-8) after their second consecutive win, 50 years and one day after the Immaculate Reception. This victory wasn’t as momentous as the first postseason win in franchise history, but they had to claw their way from an early deficit, and claw they did. Crawling might be more apt to describe an offense that endured hearty boos at times before saving its best for last.
