PITTSBURGH — The Steelers run defense won’t conjure up images of the Steel Curtain anytime soon, but Sunday they found a way, and four takeaways were enough to top Tennessee for a 19-13 bounce-back victory at Heinz Field.
Ben Roethlisberger presided over a mostly inefficient offense yet again, throwing for just 148 yards on 16-of-25 passing and settling for four field goals from Chris Boswell, but suddenly the Thursday night loss last week at Minnesota doesn’t seem as much like a season-killer. Roethlisberger’s 1-yard sneak late in the third quarter was the team’s only touchdown.
The Titans (9-5) are leading the AFC South, but in this one, the Steelers terrorized quarterback Ryan Tannehill to the tune of one interception and one lost fumble to go along with his 147 yards passing. Tennessee still rushed for 201 yards and walloped the Steelers in most statistical categories, but winning the turnover battle trumped all those details. The Steelers (7-6-1) now find themselves creeping back into the playoff picture, and even the AFC North title doesn’t seem all that outlandish. Hey, wait a second, didn’t we just do all this two weeks ago when the beat the Ravens at home? Nevertheless ...
It was over when: Joe Haden, playing through a foot injury, stopped Titans receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine just short of the first-down marker on 4th-and-6 with 27 seconds left. The Titans would’ve had 1st-and-goal at the 10 had Westbrook-Ikhine gotten just one yard more. But instead, Haden turned to fans in the end zone and crossed his arms in defiance, knowing he’d just helped clinch a must-win.
Player of the game: T.J. Watt. It was a long week for him after leaving the Vikings game early because of a nagging groin, but the NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate put it to good use. Watt returned from that pesky injury yet again and looked like his usual self. He notched 1 1/2 more sacks, and the half might’ve been even more impressive when he barreled through two Titans offensive linemen holding him to get to Tannehill a split-second after Cam Heyward. Watt now has the best sack season in franchise history, with 17.5 to James Harrison’s 16 in 2008, and he still has three more opportunities. Oh, and just to stuff the stat sheet, he added a key fumble recovery in the fourth quarter that led to Boswell’s fourth field goal.
Trending up: Taco Charlton. Watt’s 2017 draft class mate picked a great time to make his first huge play as a Steeler. On 3rd-and-3 for the Titans at the Steelers 42, Tannehill underestimated Charlton rushing off the right edge and didn’t put enough air on his throw. Charlton jumped up, tipped it, and an opportunistic Joe Schobert ran under it for an interception and 24-yard return that set up the go-ahead field goal.
Trending down: Trai Turner. The starting right guard is the lone veteran presence on this much-maligned offensive line, but he looked like a third rookie Sunday. Turner was called for a false start on the first play of the second quarter, backing up the offense from a manageable 3rd-and-1 to a 3rd-and-5 that they failed to convert. He also was called for holding and was responsible for at least one sack on Roethlisberger.
Next up: A Week 16 matchup with Patrick Mahomes and a Chiefs team enjoying a 10-day break after pulling out a thrilling win over the Chargers on Thursday night to improve to 10-4.
