By: Jared Villani @JVillain10
SteelerNation.com
The Pittsburgh Steelers looked to extend their winning streak to six, but they faced their toughest task yet as the Tennessee Titans were aiming for their sixth straight win as well. The Steelers started out with a 16-play drive, setting the tone and getting comfortable against the Titans defense early as they ate up over nine minutes off the clock right away. Ben Roethlisberger continued to look sharp and distribute the ball amongst his plethora of pass catchers, but it was Diontae Johnson who's back and healthy and finding the end-zone on an 11-yard touchdown grab.
The Steelers early start got them on the board quickly with a 7 to 0 lead over the Titans, displaying their ability to eat up the clock as they are second in the league in clock management only second to the Green Bay Packers.
Good to have @Juiceup__3 back out there‼️
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— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 25, 2020
Pittsburgh continued their impressive offensive dominance with James Conner running the ball with excellence displaying patience and tremendous vision. While Conner was the main contributing factor in getting the offense downfield, it was Benny Snell Jr. that found the end-zone for the Steelers for their second score of the game. Pittsburgh leads 14 to 0 and the offense was able to eat up nearly the entire first quarter with just two offensive drives.
Untouched and into the end zone ????@benny_snell | ???? CBS ????https://t.co/tI5aUTu7te pic.twitter.com/kP54UWoGag
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 25, 2020
Despite the Steelers looking nearly invincible to this point, the Titans showed their first signs of life with quarterback Ryan Tannehill and running back Derrick Henry. Tannehill found several receivers along the way, but Corey Davis was the one to give the Titans their first points of the game as Tennessee still trails 14 to 7.
Pittsburgh took exception to the Titans touchdown and were quick to answer back with the help of Chris Boswell converting from 38 yards to give the Steelers a 10-point lead, 17 to 7. After a quick turnaround from the Tennessee offense, the Steelers found themselves with the ball once again and despite not making this drive last quite as long as their others it was quick and efficient to say the least. Roethlisberger found Diontae Johnson yet again as he marched in for an easy nine-yard touchdown reception. The Steelers now off to a sizable lead 24 to 7 over the Titans.
TD 2️⃣ for @Juiceup__3!
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— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 25, 2020
It was nearly all Steelers up to this point, making things look easy against a tough Tennessee team. Boswell would further add to Pittsburgh's lead with his ever-reliable leg, converting from 30 yards out giving the Steelers a 27 to 7 lead.
Unfortunately for the Steelers, the Titans began to show further signs of life and only needed two plays to add to their point total with receiver A.J. Brown torching the Steelers defense with a huge 73-yard touchdown. The Titans cut the Steelers lead down to 13 points as they trail 27 to 14.
The tides continued to turn against the Steelers with Big Ben throwing his second interception of the game which in turn gave the Titans a chance to chip away at the Steelers once comfortable lead. The Titans field position after the interception was enough to give Stephen Gostkowski a shot at converting a field from 51 yards out, the successful field goal brought the Titans within 10 points, now trailing 27 to 17.
Despite a fantastic first half from the Steelers, the second half was turning out to be anything but as the Titans fought their way back and the big presence of Derrick Henry finally got himself in the game by pounding the ball into the end-zone from short yardage. The Titans now giving the Steelers a reason to play with a sense of urgency, now within three points trailing 27 to 24.
Luckily for the Steelers, their defense was able to do just enough to force the Titans to settle for a 45-yard field goal attempt and Gostkowski was unable to convert and therefore giving the Steelers a perfect record on the season improving to 6 and 0 on the season!
Pittsburgh Stat Leaders
Ben Roethlisberger 32-49 268 Yards 2 Touchdowns 3 Interceptions
James Conner 20 Rushes 82 Yards
JuJu Smith-Schuster 9 Receptions 85 Yards
Vince Williams 9 Tackles 1 Sack
