The Titans dominated the majority of the game in the season opener at the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers Thursday night, but came up short in overtime as their tired defense could not stop another Ben Roethlisberger 4th qtr comeback.
The Titans defense started the 2009 season as expected with a forced 3 and out, but Tennessee CB Courtland Finnegan who was returning punts for the first time in his NFL career made a costly mistake by not fair catching a punt which would have given the Titans ball on their own 10 yard line. Instead, Finnegan let it drop and Steelers CB Keenan Lewis downed the ball at the 2 yard line.
The Titans first offensive possession of the year was a quick one, as their backs were up against the wall. Troy Polamalu made two tackles on the drive and the big one on 3rd & 6 where he hit Chris Johnson like a bullet coming out of a gun.
The Steelers started their 2nd drive of the game on the Tennessee 43 yard line, but 2nd year DL Jason Jones who dominated Pittsburgh offensive linemen last year with 3-1/2 sacks got to Roethlisberger and knocked the Steelers out of FG range.
The Titans second possession started on their own 11 yard line, and they quickly marched down the field behind a 32 yard run by Chris Johnson with a personal foul late hit by Troy Polamalu, and a 20 yard pass completion to TE Bo Scaife. The Titans drive stalled on the Steelers 19 yard line, and a bad snap by center Ken Amato made Rob Bironas push a 37 yard field goal attempt wide right.
Pittsburgh couldn't capitalize on their next attempt with the ball. DT Tony Brown sacked Roethlisberger on a 3rd and long and the Steelers had another 3 and out.
The Titans moved down the field well there next possession until Kerry Collins hung one on a long pass attempt to rookie WR Kenny Britt. Britt made a rookie mistake by not playing defender and Polamalu made a great one handed interception.
The Titans quickly got the ball back as Ben Roethlisberger threw and interception of his own on a 3rd and long to S Vincent Fuller. The 1st quarter had ended, and the Titans defense was outstanding. Three drives, two sacks, 1 interception, and zero first downs.
Titans punter Craig Hentrich pinned the Steelers down at their own 5 yard line, but Big Ben finally connected on some passes and had two nice first downs before finally having to punt.
Tennessee marched from their 27 yard line all the way down to the Steelers 13 yard line. Collins threaded a pass perfectly in the endzone to Justin Gage on a 3rd and long, but Gage could not hold on. Bironas who has been one of the best kickers in league history in terms of accuracy had his next field goal attempt blocked. Troy Polamalu got injured on the play when Alge Crumpler fell on his knee when Polamalu was trying to scoop up the block.
The Steelers moved down the field with their two minute offense and Roethlisberger hit Santonio Holmes on a 34 yard passing touchdown on a pump fake where Chris Hope just bit big time.
The Titans were resilient though getting the ball back with only 1:22 left in the half. Collins hit a wide open Kenny Britt, and Britt did the rest on a nice run after the catch. Collins hit Justin Gage on the very next play in the endzone for the touchdown to tie the game.
The Titans scoring drive was only 34 seconds long, so Pittsburgh did get the ball back, and managed to drive all the way down to the Titans 42 yard line. It was looking like the Steelers would have a shot at a FG until DE William Hayes came up big with a sack pushing the Steelers back to midfield. The Steelers were forced to throw up a hail mary which Courtland Finnegan almost pulled a James Harrison by returning it for a TD. Finnegan ran out of gas, and blockers.
Going into the 2nd half, there was some big news for Titans fans. Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu who was all over the field in the 1st half would not be returning to the game. Polamalu suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee and he will be out a few weeeks.
The Titans once again marched right down the field only to have their drive stalled when Bo Scaife fumbled after getting hit in the knee.
"He dove at my leg. It was a cheap shot,'' Scaife said. "I have been playing my whole life and no one has ever hit me like that. So I know when it is real and when it is not real. So it was a cheap shot and I don't care if that gets back to him either."This was the turning point in the game as the Titans lost their #1 receiving option.
The Titans had another nice drive to start the 4th qtr and Rob Bironas finally connected on a field goal when he hit a 45 yarder with just over 11 minutes left in the game.
Pittsburgh finally went back to what was working in the 1st half with their next possession when they ran a lot of no huddle which stopped Tennessee from substituting their players on the d-line. Pittsburgh moved right down the field, but when they got to the Titans 10 yard line on a 2nd & 2, they ran two consecutive run plays. The Titans stuffed both of them, and then didn't jump offsides on a 4th & 1 where Roethlisberger was trying to draw the penalty. Jeff Reed nailed the chip shot to tie the game with just about 3 minutes left.
On the ensuing kickoff Tennessee had a huge holding penalty, that cost them 10 huge yards. Collins to Gage got those yards back, but then the Titans offense sputtered for the first time pretty much all game when Pittsburgh brought the heat and Justin Gage dropped a catchable pass on 3rd & 10 which would have kept the drive going. The Titans did not take any time of the clock in this drive. The Steelers received the ball back with just under two minutes left in the game.
Once again, the Steelers two minute offense was too much for the Titans conservative defense and Roethlisberger tore up the Titans soft zone. It looked like a Titans loss until Hines Ward fumbled at the Titans 10 yard line on an incredible strip by Michael Griffin. All Ward had to do was fall to the turf and the game was over, he admitted it was a mistake after the game in a post game interview.
The game went to overtime when you guessed it, the Steelers win the toss and march right down the field against a soft zone defense and mediocre pass rush. Jeff Reed nailed the game winner and the Titans lost 13-10.
Some things I noticed
1. The Titans need to utilize the screen pass a little more. Find more ways to get Chris Johnson the ball. When Johnson has the ball in the open field he is as dangerous as any player in the league. The Titans had 2 called vs Pittsburgh, but the pressure came too quick before the screen developed.
2. The defense strives on rushing with their front four, putting pressure on the QB and forcing mistakes. They are able to do this by rotating fresh bodies in at a constant basis. When teams go no huddle against them, tired legs are in the game and they don't get the same result. Defensive Coordinator Chuck Cecil will need to mix it up with a blitz every once in a while, otherwise the Titans will be sitting ducks all season. 30 other NFL teams took note of how to beat the Titans defense, so hopefully changes will be made in the next game.
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