Another close victory for these 6-0 Pittsburgh Steelers as they held on to win versus the Tennessee Titans. It came down to holding onto a lead and the Titans missing a game-tying field goal for the Steelers to secure a win that really dwindled at times.
This was the biggest test yet for the away team that comes from the Steel City. They found a way to get a huge lead at halftime that really showed their might. It seemed like this would be another blowout like last week when the Steelers gained a 27-7 lead.
That false hope quickly dwindled as an explosive play entirely altered the momentum for the rest of the game. The defense couldn’t get stops and the offense played extremely sloppy. Ugly wins are always better than pretty losses as the old saying goes and Mike Tomlin’s team really showed that today.
It was not pretty in the second half and it showed mightily as this one should’ve gone to overtime tied at 27-27 but the Titans kicker, Stephen Gostkowski missed a 45-yard attempt that would allow the men of Steel to claim victory on Sunday. It really was a tale of two halves as each team dominated in each half of play.
The black and yellow dominated the first half and could do no wrong as the Titans had no answers on either side of the ball. The second half really spun a new twist as the country town team would flip the script and take over this game with the Steelers having little to no answers for them. Penalties were a major factor as well in this one and allowed for Tennessee to take advantage and get back into this game.
TJ Watt had a standout performance against a beaten-down offensive line.
TJ Watt was the player of the game for his team this week. He stood out amongst his teammates and showed again why he is one of if not the best defenders in the league. He was able to create pressure, get into passing lanes, and cause rushes for lost yardage on multiple occasions. The entire defense did a good enough job to get out of the stadium with a win but they saw issues throughout the game as well. Watt was able to be effective throughout this game consistently. He finished with a stat sheet of one sack, five tackles, one pass deflection, and three tackles for loss.
It was a very tough and ugly win for the Steelers but the win is all that matters. Learning from your mistakes and improving as you go forward while winning is the ultimate hope for NFL teams and Pittsburgh has had that luxury right now.