The Pittsburgh Steelers now lay claim to the longest scoring — in terms of plays — in 21 years. The Steelers went 21 plays in the third quarter of Sunday’s clash at Carolina, overcoming even a taunting penalty by Diontae Johnson to march 91 yards.
The possession featured 14 runs, including a one-yard sneak up the middle by Mitch Trubiksy to open up a 14-point advantage. It also saw a 22-yard jet sweep by Steven Sims on third-and-one from Pittsburgh’s 40-yard line.
Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren also scored on carries earlier on in the contest.
The only series to have more plays in that same time frame came on Oct. 7, 2007, with New Orleans and Drew Brees using 24 plays against the Panthers to move 88 yards and have a field goal blocked.
The Saints also had a 19-play, 82-yard march earlier in that game that yielded a field goal.
According to Sportsking.com, the longest drive in the modern record books belongs to the Tennessee Oilers, who ate up 25 plays and 13:21 on Nov. 27, 1997. Eddie George toted the ball 11 times and Steve McNair another three during that series, which started on their own nine-yard line and ended with a 19-yard field goal.
In other long drive oddities, Carolina punted on a 20-play drive in 2016, something no team had done in the 18 years before that.