Steelers honor Franco Harris by rallying past Raiders 13-10

The Steelers beat the Raiders 13-10 to pay tribute to Franco Harris. Kenny Pickett threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens with 46 seconds remaining, and the Pittsburgh Steelers capped three days of tributes to the late Franco Harris with a 13-10 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday night. On the same night the Steelers retired Harris' number 32, the Hall of Fame running back died Wednesday at age 72.

Pittsburgh's 7-8 win over the Raiders kept its slim playoff hopes alive. Las Vegas (6-9) was pushed to the brink of elimination from the postseason a day after the 50th anniversary of Harris's Immaculate Reception win over the Raiders in the 1972 playoffs Pickett expertly led the Steelers 76 yards in ten plays, the last of which was a dart over the middle to a wide open receiver. Pickens in the end zone, Pickett completed 26 of 39 for 244 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Pat Fryer caught seven passes for 66 yards, and Naji Harris had 95 total yards as the Steelers won for the fifth time in seven games. Derek Carr threw for 174 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions, the last one a floater down the middle of the field that was picked off by Cam Sutton with 29 seconds to go. Pittsburgh rookie Conor Hayward ran for a first down to help the Steelers run out of time. The Raiders, coming off a dramatic last play victory over New England last week, reverted to their form from earlier this season by losing their eighth one-score game of the year. They could be eliminated from the playoffs by the end of the week. During a bitterly cold night, players wore replicas of their jerseys while entering the stadium.

Defensive captain Cam Newton Hayward ran onto the field waving a massive flag with Harris's number, and Pickett even shouted Franco Franco during his cadence before converting a quarterback sneak in the first half, but still, it looked like it wouldn't be enough. While Pittsburgh moved the ball well at times, it struggled once it got close to the end zone, with Chris Boswell missing a pair of field goals and picking it off with an interception in the third quarter, his first in 145 attempts. Carr started crisply in the eight-degree weather, the coldest hung game for the Steelers since 1989, and finished off a 14-play, 71-yard opening drive with a 14-yard touchdown strike to Hunter Renfro, yet Las Vegas let the Steelers hang around and pick it.

Carr, whose name was announced by Harris when Pittsburgh took him with the 20th overall pick in last spring's draft, provided the first signature moment of what the Steelers hope will be a decorated career honoring Harris. What should have been a celebratory weekend for one of the NFL's marquee franchises devolved into the Steelers' coldest hung game since 1989 with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Renfro, whose name was announced by Harris when Pittsburgh selected him with the 20th overall pick in the draft last spring.

It provided the first signature moment of what the Steelers hope will be a decorated career honoring Harris Joe Greene, who wiped away tears for Raiders' Chandler Jones, who left the game in the third quarter with a left elbow injury after colliding with teammate Max Crosby and did not return. Denzel Perryman went to the locker room with a left shoulder injury in the fourth quarter. Travis Norwood left in the first half with a hamstring injury and did not return. On January 1st, the Raiders will host the NFC West champion San Francisco 49ers. The Steelers visit Baltimore on January 1st, after the Ravens defeated Pittsburgh 16-14 on December 11th at Acreshire Stadium.