Steelers vs. Seahawks: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Regular Season

The Seattle Seahawks are officially back in the NFC playoff picture after a highly entertaining 39-30 Week 12 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at CenturyLink Field.

Seattle overcame a masterful display from Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was 36-of-55 passing for 456 yards. That was thanks in large part to its own signal-caller, Russell Wilson, who remained upbeat as Roethlisberger carved his side up.   

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Ben Roethlisberger threw for 456 yards against the @Seahawks, the most Seattle has ever allowed to an opposing QB in a single game.

— B/R Insights (@BR_Insights) November 30, 2015"

Wilson may have had his best game as a passer of his tremendous NFL career to date as the embattled Steelers pass defense continued to struggle.

Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times highlighted how rare it's been for an opposing QB to achieve such lofty statistics against the Seahawks' Legion of Boom secondary, though:

Danny O'Neil of 710 ESPN Seattle alluded to the numbers that suggest the Seahawks aren't as stout as they once were:

Doug Baldwin had a fourth quarter for the ages to provide the Seahawks with a ton of momentum in improving to 6-5. Baldwin's third touchdown of the day went for 80 yards and came on a 3rd-and-9 with 2:01 remaining in the game.

ESPN Stats & Info highlighted Baldwin's achievement in the context of Seattle's franchise history:

Typical No. 3 option Markus Wheaton was the biggest beneficiary of star Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman keying in on Antonio Brown, which is what helped Big Ben to such a big outing.

Wheaton's 69-yard score in the fourth quarter put the Steelers up 27-26—their last lead. Chris Bradford of the Beaver County Times highlighted just how much Wheaton stepped up en route to 201 yards receiving in the end:

NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala praised the wideout for sticking with it amid a turbulent on-field start to his career:

Pittsburgh simply made too many mistakes to win in such a hostile environment. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler highlighted the numerous blunders that plagued the away team:

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin dialed up a special teams trick play on what would have been a field-goal attempt, leading to Jeremy Lane's pick off Pittsburgh backup quarterback Landry Jones, courtesy of SB Nation:

A big return on the pick led to Seattle's first score, which came on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson to Baldwin on 3rd-and-goal.

Skip Bayless of ESPN posed a fair question following that sequence of events:

ESPN's Mike Greenberg praised Tomlin for the successful strategy to go for two after a DeAngelo Williams six-yard TD scamper gave Pittsburgh an 18-14 edge into halftime:

The bold tactic redeemed the fake-kick fiasco, but the first interception Roethlisberger threw gave Seattle new life.

Stud tight end Jimmy Graham came down with a spectacular 36-yard reception to set up Thomas Rawls' rumble across the plane from one yard out to make the score 21-20 with 18 minutes on the game clock. The Cauldron showed off Graham's acrobatic snag:

Unfortunately, Steven Hauschka had his point after the touchdown blocked, marking his third extra-point miss in the past two contests.

Whatever coaching decisions Tomlin made in his efforts to attack and be the aggressor were ultimately undermined by Pittsburgh's bad ball security.

Sherman picked Big Ben while matched up in one-on-one coverage with Brown, leading to Jermaine Kearse's second TD catch with 12:17 remaining. That preceded the long score to Wheaton, as this truly was a thrilling, seesaw type of affair until Baldwin's concluding catch-and-run.

Brady Henderson of 710 ESPN Seattle shared an interesting fact after the Seahawks used takeaways to offset a disappointing contest in terms of yardage yielded:

The road doesn't get any easier for the Seahawks in Week 13 after a hard-fought win. They will travel to take on the 8-3 Minnesota Vikings. Whatever the NFC North leaders lack in a passing attack, they make up for in the rushing prowess of Adrian Peterson and an exceptional defense of their own.

Graham left in the third quarter with a knee injury, which has now been confirmed as a season-ending torn patellar tendon. That's a major blow to Seattle, but at least the Seahawks are in the sixth spot of the NFC postseason standings, eclipsing the Atlanta Falcons thanks to a superior wining percentage in the conference.

Pittsburgh can't be feeling any relief and has now further jumbled the AFC standings, where it now sits in eighth after entering Week 12 in fifth. Tomlin's team returns to Heinz Field for a clash with massive playoff implications against the AFC South-leading Indianapolis Colts next week.

Post-Game Reaction

Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll indicated Graham's injured patellar tendon will require surgery, per the team's official Twitter account.

"We're gonna miss the heck out of him for the rest of the season," said Carroll of Graham.

Baldwin spoke about his tremendous showing. It turns out it had been a while since he'd found the end zone so often:

The wideout also thanked rookie Tyler Lockett for throwing a block to spring him on his 80-yard TD, saying, "41 was trying to catch up to me and he's fast. But Tyler is faster. I can't thank him enough."

He also took time to praise Sherman for the job he did on Brown, adding, "Sherman is the epitome of an alpha male, alpha competitor."

Injured Steelers star running back Le'Veon Bell debated the narrative that Sherman shut Brown down:

In any event, Seattle did make enough plays and capitalized on Pittsburgh's mistakes—be it takeaways or poor tackling—to get the job done in what may be a turning point in its season.