2015 Steelers Season in Review: Best Offensive Plays of the season

The Steelers' 2015 campaign ended with a disappointing loss in the divisional round against the Denver Broncos. While the future of the Steelers in 2016 is quite bright and the discussions for free agency and the draft will be aplenty, this is one last opportunity to look back at what the Steelers accomplished in the 2015 season.

First in the series will be the best offensive plays of the season. The criteria is as follows:

1. regular season only, so apologies to the Martavis Bryant butt catch against Cincinnati in the wild card round and 2. the play had to be significant in that it best led to the Steelers winning the game. So, without further ado, the best plays on offense during the 2015 season.

Top 10

10. Landry Jones’s first career touchdown pass to Martavis Bryant in the Arizona game. Just an amazing catch by Bryant, who made his 2015 debut that afternoon after missing the first five games. This was also the first touchdown scored by the Steelers that day. Link to the play (go to the 2:15 mark for the play).

9. Darrius Heyward-Bey’s 35-yard touchdown catch from Ben Roethlisberger in the San Francisco game. This game, everything seemed to work on offense as the team scored 43 points and succeeded on several two point conversions, which was common for the Steelers in 2015 as the league moved back the PAT for a 33 yard kick. This pass pretty much encapsulated the Steelers’ day and it was a thing of beauty. Link to the play (go to the :25 mark for the play).

8. Markus Wheaton’s 8-yard touchdown catch and roll against the Browns in the regular season finale. It was a great grab by Wheaton which pretty much iced the game for the Steelers, who then focused on the scoreboard to see what was going on in Buffalo (at least, the fan base did!). Link to the play.

7. Markus Wheaton’s 72-yard touchdown catch from Mike Vick in the San Diego game. According to Vick, Big Ben called the play from the sideline and it worked to perfection.  Link to the play.

6. Martavis Bryant’s 68-yard deep shot against the Colts from Ben Roethlisberger on a rollout pass. It was just beautiful and pretty much sealed the win against the Colts. Link to the play.

5. Antonio Brown’s 56-yard catch and run against the Browns from "backup" quarterback Ben Roethlisberger which ended with a perfect front flip into the end zone. I am just glad he didn't hurt himself! (the Russian judge gave Brown a 9.1 and the French judge gave him a 8.8) Link to the play.

4. Ben Roethlisberger’s 23-yard laser shot to Antonio Brown against Denver in the 4^th quarter which gave the Steelers the lead and the eventual win. It capped off a 17 point deficit and a huge win for the Steelers in late December. Link to the play.

3. Antonio Brown’s 57-yard catch and run from Landry Jones with less than a minute to go against the Oakland Raiders. This play was a capper on a historic day for Brown (284 receiving yards) and it also set the Steelers up for a game winning field goal. Link to the play (go to the 1:16 mark for the play).

2 (tie). Le’Veon Bell’s wildcat run from the 1-yard line as time expired in San Diego, giving the Steelers a 24-20 win in their second game without Ben Roethlisberger. Say what you will about the play call, but it worked and it won the game. And…. Michael Vick’s 24-yard scramble as time was expiring in San Diego. Vick was the only quarterback on the roster who could have done this.  Without this scramble (Vick’s only rush of the night), the Bell touchdown never happens. Link to the play (go to the :37 mark and 1:10 mark for both plays).

1. Landry Jones to Martavis Bryant’s 88 yard catch and run (more like slalom) through the Arizona defense on a 2^nd and 8 with less than 2 minutes to go in the game. It was a beautiful play which kept getting better and better as Bryant showcased his immense physical abilities on one play and cemented Landry Jones’s roster spot as the backup quarterback for the remainder of the season. Link to the play.

Next: the best defensive plays of the season.