Sunday, the Steelers faced a struggling 3-8-1 Arizona Cardinals in Phoenix.  The Cardinals have not won a game since October, and they are already eliminated from the playoffs.

The Steelers, however, control their own destiny, with the Tennessee Titans being their only competition with the same record of 7-5.  On Sunday, the Titans destroyed the Oakland Raiders 42-21.  So, the Steelers needed to win their game against the Cardinals to remain the No. 6-seed in the AFC.

They would have to do it without star wide-receiver JuJu Smith Schuster, who was out with a concussion and running back James Conner who has a shoulder injury.

The Steelers started out slowly, but efficiently, with a field goal after a long 13-play-drive.

After a Cardinals’ three-and-out, punt returner Dionte Johnson caught the ball, juked past a couple of defenders, and scored to give the Steelers a 10-0 advantage.  The Cardinals, however, would fight back, with a field goal thanks to a fumble recovery, and then a touchdown with a pass from quarterback Kyler Murray to tight end Charles Clay.  On that play, Steelers cornerback Joe Haden had a miscommunication issue, and that led to Clay being wide open.

But then, Duck Hodges would lead the Steelers to a field goal at the end of the half thanks to a couple of completed passes to Johnson.

At the start of the second half, it would be quiet with a lot of punts.  However, Duck would start to fire beautiful, accurate passes, especially to Johnson.  In fact, on third-and-goal, Hodges would roll out and throw a TD to Johnson to extend the lead to 20-10.  It was all but over until a punter almost ruined it.

Steelers punter Jordan Berry for some reason decided to not punt the ball and try to run for a first down instead, but he wasn’t even close and fumbled the ball, giving the Cardinals a chance.

Thanks to that, Kyler Murray would throw a strike to running back David Johnson giving the red birds life.

Nevertheless, Hodges did convert key third-down conversions, including one on a third-and-6 to James Washington.  The drive, however, would stall out with a couple of questionable play calls including passing the ball when running it would’ve killed time off the clock.  The lead was 23-17.

The Cardinals had a chance to come back, but the Steelers defense would not be feared.  Kyler Murray was sacked three times, and Joe Haden picked off the last heave on a fourth-and-30 securing the win for the Steelers.

As the No. 6 seed in the AFC, the Steelers control their own destiny, playing a huge Sunday night game at Heinz Field against the 9-4 Bills, who lost to the Ravens last week.

That game will be a fun one to watch!