The Pittsburgh Steelers returned home Thursday night to battle the AFC South leading Titans. Color rush jerseys and all, Pittsburgh dismantled Tennessee handily at Heinz Field.
The Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night. The two entered the game as leaders of their respective divisions.
Pittsburgh started the game strong with a 75-yard opening touchdown drive. Ben Roethlisberger drew the Titans offside and bombed a long touchdown to Antonio Brown for an early 7-0 lead.
The Steelers offense then slowed down considerably after the opening drive. After the 75-yard drive, the Steelers gained just 65 yards on their next 6 possessions.
The Steelers took a 16-7 halftime lead into the lockers after three field goals from Pittsburgh and a Marcus Mariota touchdown run.
The half came at the right time as Pittsburgh’s offense needed to regroup and come out fired up. However, the Titans’ offense came out fired up as they scored on the first play of the second half.
Because Pittsburgh’s leader Big Ben challenged the offense at the half, they knew they had to answer. Pittsburgh came out firing on all cylinders marching 75 yards for an answer.
Roethlisberger lead the 10 play drive that was capped with Brown’s second touchdown of the game. Tennessee answered with a field goal to make it 23-17 and that is where Pittsburgh exploded.
Big Ben again drove his offense down the field on a long touchdown drive capped by a Jesse James touchdown. The reception came after a Le’Veon Bell touchdown run became overturned after review.
The Steelers defense held Tennessee to a three and out and got the ball back to the hot offense. Big Ben yet again drove down the field to throw his fourth TD and Brown’s third TD catch of the night.
The Steelers defense exploded for five sacks and four interceptions in the game. The pressure on Mariota caused ill-advised throws thus leading to the defense capitalizing.
Because the defense was able to defend the run so well, the pass numbers looked good yardage wise. However, the yardage was helped by the 75-yard opening play of the second half.
The Steelers rushing attack was not as explosive as normal but they did not need it to be Thursday night. Big Ben had a vintage performance much to the praise of Steeler Nation.
This game could serve as the turning point the Steelers need to start an explosive hot streak down the stretch. The team played a complete game and, because of that, scored over 30 points for the first time in 2017.
The Steelers have a favorable schedule to close the season. They will play Green Bay at home, travel to Cincinnati, back home for the Ravens and Patriots, travel to Houston and finally end with Cleveland at Heinz Field on New Year’s eve.
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The Steelers remain the top seed in the AFC and have a solid lead on the AFC North crown. Their schedule makes it a good bet they will be at the very least a top 3 seed in this year’s playoffs.