Pittsburgh Steelers Win a Thriller in Tennessee, Beat Titans 27-24

The Pittsburgh Steelers remained the only undefeated team in the AFC Conference after today’s thrilling win over the Tennessee Titans, 27-24.

Tennessee had a chance to tie the game with 14 seconds to go, but Stephen Gostkowski missed a 45-yard field goal, with the ball going wide, which was a sign for a massive celebration at the Steelers’ bench.

“Thank you defense,” said Ben Roethlisberger following the match, smiling due to a missed field goal. “It was a crazy game. These are two really good football teams.”

Big Ben had three intercepted passes, and that was something that allowed the hosts to make a massive rally, scoring 17 straight points. With 2:40 to go, Amani Hooker picked the Steelers’ QB, handing the football back to his side. Unfortunately for the Titans’ players, they couldn’t breach Pittsburgh’s defense, which rose to the occasion after several big blows, managing to save their team.

“We give them the ball way too much today, and they took advantage of the turnovers, but our defense stepped up when needed to,” said Big Ben.

In the end, Roethlisberger ended the game with 268 passing yards, two TD passes, and three interceptions, 32-of-49.

The Steelers reached a 14-0 lead early on, with Diontae Johnson and Benny Snell Jr. delivering one receiving and one rushing TD each. Midway through the second quarter, Corey Davis decreased the gap, but the Steelers scored 10 points more until the break. Chris Boswell’s 38-yard FG and Johnson’s second TD made it 24-7 at halftime for the visiting side.

It seemed that Titans might experience a blowout when Boswell converted another FG, at 4:34 inside the third, but that was when Tennessee began its big run.

AJ Brown made a magnificent touchdown, 73 yards long, leaving all the rivals behind and delivering the football in the endzone, boosting the Titans’ morale. Gostkowski added a 55-yard FG after that, while Derrick Henry also scored a touchdown 4:47 inside the last. He carried the ball for one yard, bringing his team to just three points away from the opponents.

“We weren’t very good in all 3 phrases. Special teams with mistakes. It was uncharacteristic of our team in all 3 phases,” said Tennessee’s head coach Mike Vrabel.

His team was leaning on Henry once again, but the robust RB was stopped well in this match. Henry had 20 carries for 75 yards. AJ Brown had 153 yards in 6 catches, while the next receiver on the list was Corey Davis with 35 yards in six receptions. Ryan Tannehill was 18-of-30 for 220 yards and two TDs.

“Offensively, we didn’t do nearly what we expected to. They did a great job. We didn’t execute and it starts with me,” Tannehill stated to the media.

The Steelers’ attack was a bit more balanced. JuJu Smith-Schuster had 85 receiving yards, Johnson 80, and Eric Ebron 50. James Conner recorded 111 from the scrimmage, 82 on the ground, plus 29 receiving.

Another tough matchup is ahead of Pittsburgh (6-0). Mike Tomlin and the guys jump to Baltimore to play against their divisional rivals, and the Super Bowl contenders, the Ravens. After that, they have a much easier task as they meet the shorthanded Cowboys in Dallas.

The Titans (5-1) lost for the first time in this campaign, and they will be tested pretty good over the next two weeks. They have a road match against the Cincinnati Bengals on November 1, and seven days later host the Chicago Bears.