Receiver's celebration of a first down cost the Steelers a shot at one of the biggest comebacks in NFL history

• The Steelers trailed the Vikings 36-28 heading into the final minutes on Thursday night.
• Chase Claypool picked up a critical first down but wasted precious seconds celebrating.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were on a roll on Thursday night.

After starting their game against the Vikings in a 29-0 hole, the Steelers stormed back in the second half with a 28-7 run of their own to cut their deficit to a single score.

Trailing 36-28 with just two minutes left, Pittsburgh got the ball back with a chance to complete the biggest comeback in NFL regular-season history. If not for a bit of over-eager celebration, they might have done it.

On a critical 4th-and-1 from the Vikings 43-yard line, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger connected with wide receiver Chase Claypool for nine yards and a first down. There were just under 40 seconds left on the clock, and the Steelers were out of timeouts.

But despite the time crunch the Steelers offense was clearly under, Claypool took a moment to memorialize his catch, making a celebratory first-down gesture before looking to reset the ball.

Claypool's gesture allowed roughly five seconds to tick off the clock before the Steelers were able to spike the ball with 24 seconds left in regulation.

Three plays later, the Steelers were at the Vikings' 12-yard line with three seconds left on the clock. Roethlisberger targeted tight end Pat Friermuth in the end zone, but the ball fell incomplete. Game over.

Celebration's like Claypool's are fine in the regular course of play, but in a game-deciding two-minute drill, every second counts. Once a catch is made, players are supposed to spring to their feet, find their center or the official who will set the ball, and help their team spike the ball with as much time as possible still on the clock.

While the Steelers still may have lost the game even without Claypool's celebration, the extra seconds likely could have given them one more shot at the end zone before the clock hit zero.

After the game, Claypool explained the sequence to reporters.

"Definitely gotta be better," Claypool said. "I got tackled near the hash, did my little first-down point, and went to hand the ball to the ref. He had just got there. So, even if I got right up and looked for him, he wasn't there. He ran down the field to come get the ball. The ball got knocked out of my hands. That's what cost us time. But I definitely do have to be better. I knew the situation."

Making matters worse for Claypool was that it was his second mental miscue of the night, having already gotten benched for a period earlier in the game for a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty, a moment that left head coach Mike Tomlin frustrated.

With the loss, the Steelers are now 6-6-1 and outside the AFC playoff picture, with a final four-game stretch against the Titans, Chiefs, Browns, and Ravens left on the schedule. Tomlin has never had a losing season in his 14 seasons in Pittsburgh, but unless the Steelers clean up their mistakes over the final month of the year, this could be the first.