Jaylen Warren ran through Detroit’s defense for a career-high 143 yards and scored twice on 45-yard runs in the fourth quarter as the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Detroit Lions 29-24 at Ford Field on December 21, 2025. Pittsburgh’s ground game outgained Detroit 230 yards to 15.
Aaron Rodgers, who joined Pittsburgh as a free agent in June 2025 after the Jets released him earlier that year, went 27 of 41 for 266 yards and a touchdown. The win pushed the Steelers to 9-6 and into sole possession of the AFC North lead with two games left in the regular season.
Jared Goff passed for 364 yards and three touchdowns against no interceptions but Detroit left Ford Field with a loss. Two fourth-quarter Lions touchdowns were negated by offensive pass interference flags in the final minute. The game ended on the last play from the Pittsburgh 9-yard line, when officials flagged Amon-Ra St. Brown for pushing off cornerback Jalen Ramsey, wiping out what would have been Goff’s go-ahead score.
Table of Contents
Game Information
Detail
Information
Final Score
Pittsburgh Steelers 29, Detroit Lions 24
Date
Sunday, December 21, 2025
Kickoff
4:25 PM ET
Venue
Ford Field, Detroit, MI
Attendance
63,798
TV
CBS
Vegas Line
Detroit -7.0
Over/Under
52.0 (Over)
Surface
FieldTurf (Dome)
Duration
3:25
Box Score
Team
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Final
Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6)
3
7
2
17
29
Detroit Lions (8-7)
0
10
0
14
24
Scoring Summary
Qtr
Time
Team
Scoring Play
Drive
PIT
DET
1st
9:21
PIT
Chris Boswell 59-yd FG
9 plays, 30 yds
3
0
2nd
10:10
DET
Jake Bates 36-yd FG
8 plays, 44 yds
3
3
2nd
1:55
DET
Isaac TeSlaa 20-yd pass from Jared Goff (Bates kick)
6 plays, 62 yds
3
10
2nd
0:02
PIT
Kenneth Gainwell 45-yd pass from Aaron Rodgers (Boswell kick)*
11 plays, 80 yds
10
10
3rd
9:42
PIT
Safety, Jared Goff sacked by Kyle Dugger in end zone
3 plays, -3 yds
12
10
4th
14:58
PIT
Chris Boswell 23-yd FG
17 plays, 64 yds
15
10
4th
12:23
PIT
Jaylen Warren 45-yd run (Boswell kick)
4 plays, 61 yds
22
10
4th
8:39
DET
Kalif Raymond 27-yd pass from Jared Goff (Bates kick)
10 plays, 74 yds
22
17
4th
6:41
PIT
Jaylen Warren 45-yd run (Boswell kick)
3 plays, 65 yds
29
17
4th
4:11
DET
Jahmyr Gibbs 4-yd pass from Jared Goff (Bates kick)
10 plays, 68 yds
29
24
Ruled incomplete on the field; overturned on official review.
Int. Air Yds = Intended Air Yards (total air yards on all attempts). Comp. Air Yds = Completed Air Yards. YAC = total yards after catch. Press% = pressure rate on dropbacks. Source: Pro Football Reference.
Rushing Stats
Pittsburgh Steelers
Player
Car
Yds
Avg
TD
Long
YBC
YBC/Att
YAC
YAC/Att
BrkTkl
Jaylen Warren
14
143
10.2
2
45
122
8.7
21
1.5
2
Kenneth Gainwell
9
50
5.6
0
18
29
3.2
21
2.3
1
Jonnu Smith
2
28
14.0
0
20
12
6.0
16
8.0
0
Aaron Rodgers
2
9
4.5
0
7
6
3.0
3
1.5
0
Team
27
230
8.5
2
45
Detroit Lions
Player
Car
Yds
Avg
TD
Long
YBC
YBC/Att
YAC
YAC/Att
BrkTkl
David Montgomery
4
14
3.5
0
17
12
3.0
2
0.5
0
Jahmyr Gibbs
7
2
0.3
0
6
-2
-0.3
4
0.6
1
Jared Goff
1
-1
-1.0
0
-1
-1
-1.0
0
0.0
0
Team
12
15
1.3
0
17
YBC = Yards Before Contact. YAC = Yards After Contact (rushing). BrkTkl = Broken Tackles. Source: Pro Football Reference.
Receiving Stats
Pittsburgh Steelers
Player
Tgt
Rec
Yds
Avg
TD
Long
ADOT
YAC
Drops
Tgt Rtg
Kenneth Gainwell
7
5
78
15.6
1
45
6.4
32
0
147.6
Adam Thielen
4
4
49
12.3
0
17
9.0
13
0
117.7
D.K. Metcalf
9
4
42
10.5
0
20
11.4
18
1
58.6
Darnell Washington
4
3
36
12.0
0
18
4.3
21
1
102.1
Pat Freiermuth
4
4
20
5.0
0
11
1.3
15
0
87.5
Scott Miller
3
3
19
6.3
0
9
4.7
5
0
93.1
Calvin Austin III
1
1
8
8.0
0
8
8.0
0
0
100.0
Jaylen Warren
2
2
8
4.0
0
6
-4.5
17
0
83.3
Marquez Valdes-Scantling
3
1
6
6.0
0
6
26.7
0
0
42.4
Jonnu Smith
1
0
0
—
0
—
6.0
—
0
39.6
Team
38
27
266
9.9
1
45
Detroit Lions
Player
Tgt
Rec
Yds
Avg
TD
Long
ADOT
YAC
Drops
Tgt Rtg
Jahmyr Gibbs
13
10
66
6.6
1
16
1.8
48
1
113.0
Jameson Williams
9
5
70
14.0
0
21
12.9
2
2
80.8
Kalif Raymond
5
4
62
15.5
1
27
2.6
46
0
157.9
Amon-Ra St. Brown
9
4
54
13.5
0
24
3.2
46
1
64.1
Isaac TeSlaa
7
4
52
13.0
1
20
7.6
24
0
120.2
Anthony Firkser
4
4
40
10.0
0
18
8.5
6
0
108.3
Shane Zylstra
5
3
20
6.7
0
11
7.4
2
0
68.7
Team
52
34
364
10.7
3
27
ADOT = Average Depth of Target. YAC = Yards After Catch. Tgt Rtg = Passer Rating When Targeted. Source: Pro Football Reference.
Defensive Stats
Pittsburgh Steelers
Player
Pos
Comb
Solo
Ast
Sacks
TFL
QB Hits
PD
Kyle Dugger
S
7
6
1
1.0
1
1
0
Patrick Queen
LB
7
4
3
0.0
0
0
0
Alex Highsmith
LB
6
4
2
0.0
2
2
0
Joey Porter Jr.
CB
6
4
2
0.0
0
0
2
Payton Wilson
LB
5
4
1
0.0
0
0
0
Jack Sawyer
LB
5
3
2
0.0
1
2
0
Brandin Echols
CB
4
3
1
0.0
0
0
0
Cameron Heyward
DT
4
2
2
1.0
1
2
0
Yahya Black
DE
3
2
1
0.0
0
0
1
Chuck Clark
DB
3
1
2
0.0
0
0
2
Jalen Ramsey
CB
3
1
2
0.0
1
0
1
Carson Bruener
LB
3
0
3
0.0
0
0
0
Keeanu Benton
DT
2
2
0
1.0
1
2
0
Derrick Harmon
DT
2
0
2
0.0
0
0
0
Cole Holcomb
LB
1
0
1
0.0
0
0
0
Christian Kuntz
LS
1
1
0
0.0
0
0
0
Jeremiah Moon
LB
1
0
1
0.0
0
0
0
Jabrill Peppers
S
1
0
1
0.0
0
0
0
Asante Samuel Jr.
CB
1
1
0
0.0
0
0
0
Ben Skowronek
WR
1
1
0
0.0
0
0
0
Team
66
39
27
3.0
7
9
6
Detroit Lions
Player
Pos
Comb
Solo
Ast
Sacks
TFL
QB Hits
PD
Jack Campbell
LB
16
7
9
0.0
0
0
2
D.J. Reed
CB
8
7
1
0.0
0
0
0
Alex Anzalone
LB
8
3
5
0.0
0
0
1
Thomas Harper
S
7
4
3
0.0
1
0
1
Derrick Barnes
LB
4
3
1
0.0
0
0
0
Avonte Maddox
DB
4
2
2
0.0
0
0
0
Rock Ya-Sin
CB
4
2
2
0.0
0
0
1
Amik Robertson
CB
4
2
2
0.0
0
0
0
Aidan Hutchinson
DE
3
3
0
2.0
2
2
0
D.J. Reader
DL
3
2
1
0.0
0
1
0
Marcus Davenport
DE
2
0
2
0.0
0
0
0
Alim McNeill
DL
2
1
1
0.0
1
0
0
Jacob Saylors
RB
2
0
2
0.0
0
0
0
Nick Whiteside
CB
2
1
1
0.0
0
0
0
Roy Lopez
DL
1
0
1
0.0
0
0
0
Trevor Nowaske
LB
1
0
1
0.0
0
0
0
Grant Stuard
LB
1
0
1
0.0
0
0
0
Daniel Thomas
S
1
0
1
0.0
0
0
0
Shane Zylstra
TE
1
1
0
0.0
0
0
0
Team
74
38
36
2.0
4
3
5
Special Teams Stats
Kicking
Player
Team
FG
FG%
Long
Missed
XP
Pts
Chris Boswell
PIT
2/3
66.7%
59 yds
37-yd (Q4)
3/3
9
Jake Bates
DET
1/1
100.0%
36 yds
None
3/3
6
Punting
Player
Team
Punts
Yds
Avg
Long
Corliss Waitman
PIT
3
150
50.0
54
Jack Fox
DET
3
159
53.0
54
Kick Returns
Player
Team
Ret
Yds
Avg
Long
TD
Jaylen Warren
PIT
2
50
25.0
27
0
Kenneth Gainwell
PIT
2
49
24.5
29
0
PIT Total
4
99
24.8
29
0
Tom Kennedy
DET
3
77
25.7
30
0
Jacob Saylors
DET
2
57
28.5
31
0
DET Total
5
134
26.8
31
0
Punt Returns
Player
Team
Ret
Yds
Avg
Long
TD
Calvin Austin III
PIT
1
9
9.0
9
0
Kalif Raymond
DET
3
16
5.3
13
0
Starting Lineups
Pittsburgh Steelers
Pos
Player
QB
Aaron Rodgers
RB
Jaylen Warren
WR
D.K. Metcalf
TE
Darnell Washington
TE
Jonnu Smith
TE
Pat Freiermuth
OT
Troy Fautanu
OT
Dylan Cook
G
Mason McCormick
OL
Spencer Anderson
C
Zach Frazier
DT
Cameron Heyward
DT
Derrick Harmon
DT
Keeanu Benton
OLB
Malik Harrison
OLB
Jack Sawyer
LB
Alex Highsmith
LB
Patrick Queen
CB
Joey Porter Jr.
CB
Jalen Ramsey
CB
Asante Samuel Jr.
S
Kyle Dugger
Detroit Lions
Pos
Player
QB
Jared Goff
RB
Jahmyr Gibbs
WR
Jameson Williams
WR
Amon-Ra St. Brown
TE
Shane Zylstra
TE
Anthony Firkser
T
Taylor Decker
T
Penei Sewell
G
Tate Ratledge
G
Christian Mahogany
C
Kingsley Eguakun
DL
Alim McNeill
DL
D.J. Reader
DE
Marcus Davenport
DE
Aidan Hutchinson
LB
Derrick Barnes
LB
Jack Campbell
LB
Alex Anzalone
CB
D.J. Reed
CB
Avonte Maddox
CB
Rock Ya-Sin
S
Thomas Harper
Injuries and Inactives
Pittsburgh Steelers: OLB T.J. Watt (lung), OG Isaac Seumalo (triceps), and OLB Nick Herbig (hamstring) were inactive. CB Brandin Echols left in the second quarter with a groin injury.
Detroit Lions: C Graham Glasgow (knee), C Trystan Colon (wrist), and G Kayode Awosika (foot) were inactive. Center Kingsley Eguakun, 24, made his first NFL start in place of the injured Glasgow.
Detroit fell to 8-7, their bid for a third straight NFC North title finished, with the Lions’ playoff odds at 8 percent. Pittsburgh went on to win the AFC North division title, this win the start of a three-game winning streak through the final weeks of the 2025 regular season. Warren’s 143-yard performance was a career high. The Steelers reached 22 consecutive seasons at .500 or better with the victory, an NFL record that surpassed the 21-year run the Dallas Cowboys put together from 1965 to 1985.
Cornelia Lindqvist is a Swedish-American sports journalist with 4 years of experience covering professional athletics. She previously worked at Sports Illustrated before joining Newzire. Cornelia reports on the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, international football, and cricket, covering game results, roster moves, trade deals, playoff standings, and player statistics. Her sports analysis background helps readers understand the strategies and numbers behind wins and losses.
