Titans Play Well In Loss To Steelers
The Tennessee Titans played well in a Monday Night Football loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Titans held a fourth quarter lead but fell to the Steelers late 27-24 on a Ben Roethlisberger to Antonio Brown Touchdown pass with 9:01 left in the game.
It was Charles Dickensesque for Titans Quarterback Zach Mettenberger. It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times. The worst of times took place on Zach’s first throw. The Steelers took a quick 3-0 lead by running Le’Veon Bell right down the throat of the Tennessee defense after the opening kick off. Mettenberger then took the field in the shotgun, took the snap and fired a touchdown out toward Justin Hunter on 10 yards down the field on the sidelines.
Problem was that it was the Steelers that scored. Zach threw the ball well behind a bumbling, stumbling Justin Hunter and Steeler DB William Gay stepped in front of the pass and took it to the house for a 10-0 lead. Game over, right? Wrong. The Titans came right back and drove the ball down the field in the frigid Tennessee November night, and Rookie running back Bishop Sankey punched it in from the 9 to close the gap to 10-7.
The Steelers added another field goal to take the lead at 13-7. The Titans came right back at the Steelers defense and moved the ball well on the ground and through the air. Coach Whisenhunt called his best game of the year, and mixed the run well with the pass. The Titans let a great opportunity slip through their hands on this drive. With a third and goal at the two yard line, an inside zone read run was called. Mettenberger went ahead and ran the play into an all out blitz instead of checking out and Sankey was dropped where he started. Succup hit the short field goal to pull within 13-10.
After a forced punt by the Steelers right before the end of the half, the Titans took over at their own 20. Mettenberger surprised everyone in the stadium by throwing deep to a wide open Nate Washington who waltzed into the end zone for an 80 yard td. The Titans went into half up 17-13.
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Neither team mounted much of an offense coming out of the half. Tennessee kept blitzing Roethlisberger unmercifully, and it was clearly bothering the long time Steeler quarterback. The Titans sacked Roethlisberger five times during the game, and some of them left him getting up slowly. With the pressure coming on every play, the Steelers decided to begin running the ball. That was the end of the game.
After the Titans pulled away to 24-13 on a great throw by Mettenberger and an even better catch by tight end Chase Coffman in the end zone, the Titans looked as if the upset was on. Then came Le’Veon.
Bell began his onslaught at the end of the third quarter. Roethlisberger kept handing the ball to Bell and the Titan front could do nothing about it. Mike Munchak’s offensive line dominated the new 3-4 front of the Titans from the outset of the fourth quarter. The Steelers scored twice in the fourth quarter to go up 27-24, and held the ball for 6 minutes at the end of the game by grinding Bell on counters one after the other. Bell ended up with 204 yards on 33 carries. They were tough yards as well. Bell and Titan’s Safety Michael Griffith had several epic collisions like two heavyweight fighters during the evening.
Overall, the Titans played well. They just don’t have enough firepower yet. The defense schemed well by blitzing more than I have ever seen a Titan team blitz. Whisenhunt schemed the Steelers defense about as good as they can be schemed. The Titans had some chances, but just couldn’t get it done. I think the team and the fans can take away some good moments. Maybe this could be a turning point. The Season is done, but a good finish will carry over to next season. This young team still has plenty to play for. Most of all, they are playing for their position next season.