Fields ran with tight end MyCole Pruitt 22 yards to the Detroit 2, setting up a 1-yard touchdown run by La’Mical Perrine that led to a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

Fields completed 3 of 4 passes for 40 yards and also ran for 4 yards twice. He was sacked twice, including once in shotgun mode when rookie center Zach Frazier appeared to snap the ball before the quarterback was ready.

However, Tomlin was pleased with the performance of his two best quarterbacks.

“They both moved the ball,” Tomlin said. “They won possessions and we got them all in the end zone, things we hadn’t done enough of up until that point in the preseason.”

The Lions tied the game in the second quarter. Backup Hendon Hooker, who started the game, led a 72-yard touchdown run that he capped off with a 2-yard touchdown pass to running back Jake Funk. The Lions then managed a strip sack on Allen at the Pittsburgh 33 and turned that into a short touchdown run by Jermar Jefferson just before the end of the first half.

The Lions took the opening kickoff of the second half into the red zone, but rookie kicker Jake Bates missed a 30-yard field goal attempt.

After the rally, the Steelers faced a third-and-8 attempt, but Allen connected with Dez Fitzpatrick for a 59-yard catch-and-run along the sideline, setting up a 26-yard field goal by Matthew Wright that gave the Steelers a 17-14 lead with 3:20 left in the third quarter.

Veteran cornerback Cam Sutton, who was signed by the Lions after being released in the offseason, intercepted a deflected pass from Hooker on Detroit’s next possession, allowing the Steelers to quickly get the ball back at the Lions’ 45-yard line. But on the third attempt, Allen and Jaray Jenkins narrowly missed a 30-yard pass down the sideline and the Steelers punted the ball back to Detroit.