The Steelers won this football game with defense and special teams.  Aaron Smith, LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison led the Steelers’ defense with 5 tackles and 1 sack apiece in this game.  Jeff Reed nailed a 47-yard field goal with 4 seconds left to give the Steelers this win as he scored all 12 of the points for them.  The Vikings finished up with only 32 yards rushing on 22 carries (1.5 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 24 passes for 131 yards.

The Steelers’ offense might not have scored a lot of points in this game but they had possession of the football for a stunning 36:23!  Ben Roethlisberger had a so-so game completing 10 of 17 passes for 65 yards.  Byron Leftwich was pretty effective for the Steelers in this game as he completed 16 of 23 passes for 129 yards.  Rookie RB Rashard Mendenhall led the Steelers in rushing in this game with 79 yards on 15 carries (5.3 ypc) but he lost two fumbles, one of which led to the Vikings only TD.  Willie Parker did not look good in this game as he finished up with only 18 yards rushing on 10 carries (1.8 ypc).  WR Willie Reid was the Steelers’ leading receiver in this game with 5 catches for 55 yards (11.0 avg).  The Steelers finished up with 102 yards rushing on 31 carries (3.3 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 40 passes for 179 yards.