Fifteen Round Fight Ends With Pittsburgh Overtime Knockout

Thursday's game marked the beginning of the 2009 NFL season.  There may have been no better way to start off the season than between these two teams. 

The Tennessee Titans were the team to beat last year.  They dominated opponents during the regular season recording a league best thirteen and three record.  The Titans suffered a crushing loss in the playoffs to their hated rival, the Baltimore Ravens.

The Pittsburgh Steelers posted the second best record in the AFC last year despite have the hardest schedule in the league.  Troy Polamalu and friends ended up finishing first in almost every defensive category.  The Pittsburgh defense willed the team all the way to the Super Bowl.  Everyone knows what happened after that.

These two physical teams seem like the perfect opening season matchup based on talent alone, but their is much more to it.

Week sixteen of the 2008 campaign the Steelers traveled to Tennessee.  Home field advantage was on the line.  The game was supposed to be a battle where each team had to fight for every yard.  It turned into a 31-14 massacre in favor of the Titans.

There were many side stories that were created by Titan players during that victory.  Lendale White stomped on a knockoff terrible towel.  White did not plan on apologizing anytime soon.  Chris Johnson put the ball in Troy Polamalu's face on his twenty-one yard touchdown run.

All those things made thursday's game that much more interesting.

This Steelers-Titans matchup was exactly the battle that was projected last year.

The first quarter was dominated by strong defense. 

The Titans had chances to take a hold of the game early.  Rob Bironas of the Titans missed a thirty-seven yard field goal, a kick that is usually automatic for him. The next possession, driving in Pittsburgh territory, a deep pass was intercepted one-handed by Troy Polomalu. 

During the following Pittsburgh drive, the Titans nickelback Vincent Fuller picked off Ben Rothlesburger to give the Titans a second chance.  On third down from Pittsburgh's thirty-four, Kerry Collins took a sack by James Farrior that kicked the Titans out of field goal range.

Tennessee's next possession, Rob Bironas' thirty-one yard field goal attempt was blocked.

With all the momentum on their side, the Steelers wasted no time making the Titans pay for not cashing in.  It only took Pittsburgh five plays to go seventy-nine yards for the score. The drive included a twenty-nine yard strike to Hines Ward, and a thirty-four yard touchdown bomb to Santonio Holmes over the head of Chris Hope.

With their backs against the wall, the Titans responded with a seventy-one yard touchdown drive that took the Titans only three plays and twenty-one seconds.  Kerry Collins hit Kenny Britt down the sideline, and the rookie dodged a few tacklers down to the fourteen yard line.  That's where Collins hooked up with Justin Gage on pretty much the same route for a touchdown.

Early in the game, the defense continually came out on top, but just like that both offenses had effortlessly exploded in their two minute drills.

Coming out of half time, the Titans had another chance at points.  Driving into Pittsburgh territory, Kerry Collins hit Bo Scaife on a quick pass out in the flat.  Scaife was hit awkwardly by James Harrison which twisted his knee.  Scaife lost all concentration and fumbled the football.  Kenyaron Fox, who was filling in for the injured Lawrence Timmons, recovered the ball.

For the rest of the third quarter, the punters got more action than the kickers. 

A minute into the fourth, Rob Bironas connected on a forty-five yard field goal to give the Titans their first lead of the game.

Ben Rothlesburger then led the Steelers on a long eight minute drive that ended with a Jeff Reed thirty-two yard chip-shot field goal.

With the score all tied up at ten, the Titans had a chance to seal the deal right then and there.  They then go three and out with three incompletions in a row including a drop by Justin Gage deep down the middle.  The next play, Craig Hentrich takes his thirty-eight year old leg and boots the ball a whopping twenty-six yards setting up the Steelers with great field position.

After a few short pickups, Ben Rothlesburger hits Hines Ward for a thirty yard pass which turns into one of the biggest plays of the night.  When Hines Ward is at the five yard line, trying to weave his way into the endzone, the Titans pro-bowl free safety Michael Griffen punches the ball out of Hines Ward's hand from behind.  Stephen Tulluch of the Titans recovered the fumble. 

I seriously yelled "Let him score," when Hines was running at the ten thinking that a Steelers score was inevitable and it would give the Titans more time to respond.  I'm glad that Michael Griffen could not hear me. 

Tennessee then ran the ball three times to take the game into overtime.

The Steelers won the toss and chose to receive.  Like the majority of overtime games, the team that got the ball first won. 

Ben Rothlesburger marched his team down the field all the way to the Titans thirty-seven yard line.  From there he hooked up with rookie receiver Mike Wallace for a twenty-two yard gain.  The pass set up a thirty-three yard game winning field goal for Jeff Reed.  Reed nailed it and the Steelers came out with a thirteen to ten win.

Right now I am speaking from a Titans fan's point of view.  There were four things thats really frustrated me about Thursday's game.

One, rushing the passer with only four a lot of the game.  Yes, Ben Rothlesburger was sacked four times and pressured quite a bit, but Ben just tore up the Titan's zone.  It didn't work at all. 

It wasn't like the defense did not know it was coming.  All of Pittsburgh's success came from their hurry up offense when the Titans knew they were going to pass.  Ben Rothlesburger used the fact the defensive backs were reading his eyes and pump faked where ever he wanted them to move.

If the Titans can't handle Ben Rothlesburger, I am terrified to see Peyton Manning twice this year.  Peyton is the best quarterback in the league at using the pump fake.

Two, Kerry Collins must look for the check down receiver much more often.  The first two plays of the Titans second to final drive of regulation were balls thrown away to avoid the sack.  Collins is a vet, he should be able to react and hit the check down receiver when he sees the blitz coming. 

It's not like Pittsburgh disguised them on every play either.  If you can't read blitz when all the defenders are cheating toward the line of scrimmage before the snap than there is a problem.

Three, Justin Gage had a solid statistical game with seven catches for seventy-eight yards and a score, but he had way to many dropped balls.  Gage had two very crucial drops including a touchdown and a deep pass on third down during the Titans second to final drive of regulation.  The third down drop would have set the Titans up in range for a Rob Bironas game winning field goal.

Yes, some of these drops are because of tight coverage, but Gage is a big receiver at six foot four and 212 pounds.  He is a possession receiver who is expected to consistently catch those types of balls.

And four, David Stewart lined up too far back from the line of scrimmage on two plays drawing an illegal formation penalty.  One negated a twenty-four yard pass to Justin Gage.  Another forced a punt after negating an eleven yard pass to Bo Scaife on third and six. 

They are just very simple, easily correctable mental mistakes that really cost the Titans.  In a game that close, every yard counts.  Those two penalties negated thirty-five total yards of offense.

The Titans next five games are against tough competition in the Texans, Jets, Jaguars, Colts, and Patriots.  The Titans must improve to come out alive. 

Some people may say, the Titans played well.  They lost by just three in overtime to the defending Super Bowl champions on their own turf. 

A loss is a loss, and the Titans had a chance to start their grueling first six weeks off with a bang, but they couldn't get the job done.