PITTSBURGH — Dion Lewis might have been the only person at Heinz Field who wasn’t surprised by how Sunday’s incredible New England Patriots-Pittsburgh Steelers game ended.
Lewis, who scored the eventual game-winning touchdown in New England’s miraculous 27-24 victory, said he told his teammates Ben Roethlisberger would throw a game-clinching interception after Jesse James’ would-be touchdown catch was overturned in the game’s final minute.
The Steelers quarterback did just that. Two plays after officials ruled James had not completed his reception, Roethlisberger attempted to fool the Patriots with a fake spike but had his pass tipped by cornerback Eric Rowe and intercepted by safety Duron Harmon.
One final kneeldown gave the Patriots the victory and propelled them into first place in the AFC.
“I knew they were going to throw a pick,” Lewis boasted at his locker during the Patriots’ postgame celebration. “As soon as (James’ touchdown) was overturned, I said, ‘Oh, they’re going to blow it.’ Because it’s hard. You just went from winning the game to having to keep playing. And our defense, I know we weren’t going to quit.
“So I called it. I said, ‘They’re about to throw a pick right here.’ I didn’t really think they were going to throw a pick, but they really did it.”
Lewis led the Patriots in rushing for the 10th consecutive game, finishing with 67 yards on 13 carries and adding one catch for 13 yards. His 8-yard touchdown run with 56 seconds remaining — which came after three consecutive long completions to tight end Rob Gronkowski and preceded the Steelers’ ill-fated final drive — proved to be the difference.
