Quarterback Hendon Hooker nearly played the entirety of the Lions’ preseason finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday at Ford Field, and his legs played just as big of a part as his arm in the 24-17 win.

Hooker, who was sacked five times in the opening 20 minutes, rebounded to throw for 114 yards on 12-for-20 passing and run for 93 yards on 10 carries.

Maurice Alexander had 60 receiving yards on four catches and Jermar Jefferson had two rushing touchdowns for Detroit (2-1).

Saturday’s contest was heavily focused on providing opportunities for guys at the end of Detroit’s roster. Even Jake Fromm, the Lions’ fourth-string quarterback who was signed after the first preseason game, came in to run the offense for the final 11 minutes. He completed six of eight passes for 89 yards.

Lions linebacker Ty Summers had nine tackles and 1.5 sacks. James Houston and Isaac Ukwu each had a sack, with Ukwu adding a forced fumble to his resume.

Pittsburgh, which played its starters to open the game, took a 7-0 lead on the opening drive following a landing zone violation on the opening kickoff by Lions kicker Jake Bates. After the Steelers (0-3) converted a third-and-11 with a 32-yard completion to George Pickens, running back Cordarrelle Patterson avoided a tackle from safety Brandon Joseph and skipped into the end zone for a 31-yard score.

The Lions’ opening drive was not quite as successful. After Hooker moved the chains with an 8-yard completion to Shane Zylstra, he was sacked three times — including a strip-sack on third down that gave Pittsburgh a first-and-10 at Detroit’s 35-yard line. The Steelers took advantage of the field position and reached the end zone in six plays, including a 22-yard completion to MyCole Pruitt that set up first-and-goal at the 2-yard line.

Detroit cut the deficit in half on a drive in the second quarter. Jake Funk had runs of 10 and 15 yards before Hooker took off with one of his own for 19 yards, which set up a first-and-goal at the 2-yard line. Hooker connected with Funk for a passing touchdown with 2:33 to go in the half.

After Bates committed another landing zone violation, Ukwu came off the edge to strip-sack Pittsburgh quarterback Kyle Allen and the ball was recovered by Detroit lineman Chris Smith at Pittsburgh’s 33-yard line. The Lions quickly got inside the red zone with an 18-yard strike to Kaden Davis and eventually punched it in with a 1-yard touchdown run by Jermar Jefferson to tie the game at 14 with 25 seconds left in the half.Hooker came back out to start the second half and took the offense down the field efficiently, but things fell apart when Zonovan Knight was stuffed for no gain on third down at the 8-yard line. Giovanni Manu committed a false start, foiling the Lions’ plan to go for it on fourth-and-inches. Bates ran onto the field and missed a 30-yard field goal.

Following a 59-yard catch by Steelers receiver Dez Fitzpatrick over cornerback Steven Gilmore, the Lions made a red-zone stand — culminating with a pressure from defensive end Mitchell Agude that forced a bad third-down pass from Allen — and held Pittsburgh to a 26-yard field goal, giving the Steelers a 17-14 lead with 3:20 left in the third quarter.

On Detroit ensuing possession, former Lions cornerback Cam Sutton intercepted a poorly thrown pass from Hooker that was intended for Isaiah Williams.

Defensive lineman Brodric Martin was injured on the Steelers’ next possession and limped off the field after being checked out by the training staff.

The Lions got the ball back with 1:05 left in the third quarter and Hooker broke off a 10-yard gain. He then completed a 29-yard pass to Alexander — which benefited from a 15-yard horse-collar penalty on the play — before scrambles of 12 and 8 yards set up a 7-yard rushing touchdown by Jefferson, his second, to cap a seven-play, 88-yard drive.

Fromm entered the game for Hooker with 10:40 remaining. He completed passes of 14, 21 and 16 yards to move Detroit into Pittsburgh territory, where he completed a perfect third-and-2 pass to Funk in the end zone that the Lions running back couldn’t come up with.

Bates drilled a 46-yard field goal to make it 24-17 and provide the final margin with 5:22 left in the game.