The Tennessee Titans and the Pittsburgh Steelers traded field goals for the majority of the Thursday night game that marked the start of Week 9, which was heralded by much fanfare following Tennessee Titans rookie Will Levis’ four-touchdown debut the previous week. Pittsburgh eventually managed to score late and hold off a last-ditch effort by the Titans, winning 20-16.
The Steelers’ wide receiver Diontae Johnson was found by quarterback Kenny Pickett for a 3-yard touchdown with 4:02 left in the fourth quarter. While Levis dropped to 1-1 as a starter replacing the injured Ryan Tannehill, the victory enables the Steelers to stay in touch with the Baltimore Ravens, who are leading the AFC North (6-2).
With six seconds left on a third-and-5 play from the Pittsburgh 19-yard line, Levis threw his first interception of his brief NFL career, allowing linebacker Kwon Alexander to secure the victory.
Steelers of Pittsburgh (5-3)
Let’s call him Kenny Return. It was the wide receiver’s first touchdown in 22 games when the second-year quarterback for the Steelers found Johnson to score the game-winning touchdown.
Even on a night when the run game amassed a season-high 167 yards and the defense limited Derrick Henry to less than 100 running yards, it’s never easy for this year’s Steelers squad. The Steelers now lead the NFL with four victories when trailing after three quarters following this victory. In the Super Bowl era, the four comeback victories are also equal for Pittsburgh’s second-most in a season.
QB breakdown: Pickett, who had just played four days before, had a rough start to the game and only completed 53% of his passes in the first half due to a rib ailment. Though it was just the Steelers’ fourth first-drive touchdown in the previous three seasons and only their second with Pickett starting, the offense did manage to score a touchdown with Pickett leading the way. Pickett recovered with a much stronger second half after two three-and-outs, mostly because of the development of the run game. With no turnovers, Pickett completed 19 of 30 passes for 160 yards, including a 32-yard pass to Johnson on the touchdown drive. According to Next Gen Stats, the third-down throw, which covered a game-high 23 air yards, had an anticipated completion rate of just 35.9. Pickett came under pressure at the second-lowest percentage of his career (20%), but averaging 4.5 air yards per attempt, the second-lowest of his career.
Broderick Jones is the starting right tackle for the Steelers. Buy on a breakthrough performance. On a short week, Jones surprised everyone by unseating Chukwuma Okorafor. This was particularly true given that Jones has spent the most of his practice and game time at left tackle. With a $13 million cap charge this season, Okorafor is the highest paid offensive lineman for the Steelers. However, Jones played a significant role in Thursday’s run game victory. He assisted Najee Harris in scoring the game’s first touchdown and set him up for his season-long 25-yard run in the second half. A season-high 5.5 yards per carry was also achieved by the run game, much above its 3.6 average.
Unsettling trend: Wide receiver George Pickens has made spectacular catches in each of the last three games, but the play has been ruled incomplete because he failed to get a second foot down. The one on Thursday cost his team a touchdown, even though the other two were more about where the ball was placed during the toss. Pickens was the only player with the ball in the end zone after Pickett threw it there precisely, but Pickens’ second foot struck the sideline before landing in the end zone. Pickens had enough room to pull his toe, but he was too unaware to do so. Late in the third quarter, the Steelers opted for a field goal and a 13–13 tie rather than gaining a four-point advantage. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Pickens had the most catches in the league going into the game with 11 made inside two yards of a boundary during the previous two seasons. — Pryor Brooke
Titans of Tennessee (3-5)
The Titans suffered their fourth road defeat of the season and their eighth consecutive loss away from home after dropping a heartbreaker. The Steelers’ running game, spearheaded by Jaylen Warren (10 carries for 85 yards) and Harris (15 runs for 72 yards and a score), was too much for the Titans to stop.
Levis made a case to start the remainder of the season even if it was a defeat. Levis gave the Titans a shot to win but was just unable to hold off a fierce pass rush.
QB Breakdown: Despite the pass pressure constantly bearing down on Levis, he was able to throw to his receivers. His greatest throw, a multilayer ball to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine off his back foot as the defenders closed in on him, demonstrated his exceptional, effortless arm power. Even at a boisterous venue like Acrisure Stadium, it’s evident that he feels at ease and confident running offensive coordinator Tim Kelly’s scheme.
The Titans took over at their 38-yard line down four, which was the biggest hole in the game plan. Third-and-four was set up by Derrick Henry’s one-yard run after wide receiver Treylon Burks gained five yards on an end-around. In order to set up a fourth down, Kelly chose to call an inside run to Tyjae Spears, but it was unsuccessful. Even though Levis was harassed by Pittsburgh’s pass rushers throughout the game, the subsequent playcall included long-developing routes and a deep incompletion to Burks.
Positive trend: The Titans have made a lot of money with the Levis and DeAndre Hopkins combo. This season, Hopkins played 12 halves without Levis and ended with 60 yards on four catches. Just one of them included at least fifty receiving yards for him. Hopkins has only played four halves with Levis, but in three of those games, he had at least fifty receiving yards. Before Levis on the field, Hopkins had not caught a touchdown in six games; now, he has three.
Bold prediction: Next week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Levis will have his first 300-yard throwing effort. Tampa allows 256 passing yards per game, which ranks them 28th in the league. Kelly will have more time to perfect long passing plays since Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt of Pittsburgh won’t be under as much pressure as they were on Thursday. It’s expected that Levis would air it out against the Bucs since he has shown proficiency in throwing long passes (three touchdowns with 50 or more air yards). — Davenport Turron
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